Animals in stores?

Mom2Dogs · ‎03-09-2010

What do you think? A friend of ours owns a convenience store and recently a customer walked in with a very large dog. The sales girls told him the dog could not come in....but did ask first if it was a service dog. According to the dog owner, he did not have to answer as it was a hippa violation.

The guy was filming every moment...the owner came out of his office and long story short, he called the police...

My friend will find out from his lawyer who is in the right according to the law.

I was just curious to what others thought.

ahoymate · ‎05-30-2010

Where I live it is a dog friendly city! Everyone has one and everyone walks their dog and takes them in stores.

I love dogs and have no problem as long as they are well behaved and on a leash or in a stroller, purse. Most have small dogs. I would call someone who called the police "uptight".

Alsace Gal · ‎11-25-2014

@Mom2Dogs wrote:
What do you think? A friend of ours owns a convenience store and recently a customer walked in with a very large dog. The sales girls told him the dog could not come in....but did ask first if it was a service dog. According to the dog owner, he did not have to answer as it was a hippa violation.

The guy was filming every moment...the owner came out of his office and long story short, he called the police...

My friend will find out from his lawyer who is in the right according to the law.

I was just curious to what others thought.

@Mom2Dogs

I'm not an expert, the guy thought he was smart and setting the owner up.

It wasn't a Hippa violation, owner didn't ask the guy what he needed the dog for.

Also, animals which are true, licensed service dogs will have on vests designating it as such. Emotional support animals which have also been trained will have credentials and service animals will too.

Bookplate · ‎08-19-2011

Trader Joe's policy is to not allow dogs in stores other than service dogs. However, here in NYC, I constantly see dogs on leashes in the store and like heck they are all service dogs. When the store opened, a few years ago, I did hear staff ask customers to leave their dogs at home but I think they have just given up and now overlook it. I would much rather be food shopping alongside a wll-behaved dog on a leash than trying to get by a mother with a double-wide stroller or a kid on a tricycle, all of which I have experiened on multiple occasions.

The claim that the dog owner does not have to answer if a dog is a service dog is absolutely wrong. The owner of an alleged service animal is not supposed to be asked the nature of their disability, which is another matter entirely.

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

@ahoymate wrote:
Where I live it is a dog friendly city! Everyone has one and everyone walks their dog and takes them in stores.

I love dogs and have no problem as long as they are well behaved and on a leash or in a stroller, purse. Most have small dogs. I would call someone who called the police "uptight".

@ahoymate @Mom2Dogs

Just yesterday I stopped into my local Kroger store to pick up a few things, and saw a rather large dog with its owner. The dog was on a leash, but that didn't stop it from doing a poop on the floor. The owner saw it and just walked away.

What is wrong with people?

IMO ... Dogs should NOT be brought into grocery stores.

DrakesMomma · ‎06-02-2010

Here is what the ADA has to say - "Required to wear a vest or other ID that indicates they're a service dog. Emotional support or comfort dogs, because providing emotional support or comfort is not a task related to a person's disability."

kitcat51 · ‎09-15-2016

Dogs bite, some people are allergic, some are afraid & inside stores should be limited to service dogs...pet stores are an exception. I think that this dog owner was looking for an argument & got what he wanted...I like dogs but thoughtless entitled owners are a pain in the behind. I live in the country, a few let their dogs run free, ask them nicely to stop, they'll yell cuss that you're mean...ugh.

sabatini · ‎06-29-2015

About 10 years ago I worked for a brief time at Sam's Club & couldn't believe the utter rudeness of some dog owners:

@Tinkrbl44, like your experience, I once saw a dog lift its leg to pee on a bread rack. The owner did nothing.

Then there was the owner who'd grabbed a thick towel from a shelf & laid it down in a cart & plopped her (filthy) pooch onto it. She left the towel behind when she exited the store.

Outrageous.

It's what made me reconsider how I'd formerly felt about dogs accompanying their owners into stores.

Other than Pet Smart, I'm now against it.

It's not the dogs, but the owners who're at fault.

*Edited for spelling!

Muddling through...

Meowingkitty · ‎06-19-2010

I would rather have someone with a dog (well trained) in a store than someone with a bratty kid who's screaming, and annoying everyone. There is a girl at my gym who brings in her huge Shepard (he's a service dog). He goes in the locker room and sits by the pool for an hour. He is extremely well behaved. I would have no problem welcoming him in anywhere.

Venezia · ‎03-09-2010

Health regulations in many places don't allow any but service or emotional support animals.

And, quite frankly, I don't like seeing a dog sitting in a grocery cart that I or someone else may later use to put food in.

The guy mentioned in the OP sounds like a jerk. And the owner calling the police was not "uptight". You never know what someone like that will do these days. The guy was clearly looking for an argument - or something he could post online!