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[brianjones]

Yeah those fucking weirdos and their mental illnesses! /s

I would rather have my therapy dog and feel emotion then shovel a bunch of pills down my throat and feel dead inside.

its not the claims to mental illness i have issues with but being inconsiderate towards other people for the sake of your own personal wellbeing

what if i said i need marijuana for my mental health and started stinking up the apartment with the smell and you were my neighbor and had to smell it?

 

[Kenai]

Idk, I worked at a grocery store for 7 months and never ever had a dog poop on the floor, nor have I ever seen a dog poop in any other store.

You haven't worked in retail long enough then. People can be incredibly disgusting themselves so I wouldn't put it past letting their dogs do whatever as well. I think the record at the old store I looked at was feces smeared on the wall in the bathrooms three times in a single day. I could go on but I won't, nope.

In general, I love dogs and am totally fine with them. However, I am not sure on safety standards regarding dogs around food (not just food prep). Even a clean dog can carry different germs than a dirty human and I'm not sure what sanitation methods are in place for dealing with either, so I am not sure if expecting ne is covering the other.

For things like therapy animals? Fine, but they definitely have to pay for their seats if they are are anything larger than a 5-10 lb lap dog on things like flights and at movie theaters. Whether for medical reasons or not, accommodating them is fine to me, but the fact is that they take up room.

 

[suzu]

I think it's ok if the dog is well behaved and on a short leash.

Being a nuisance (wandering off, barking, pooping inside, etc) doesn't reflect well on their owner.

 

[Nealand Liquor]

I manage a big box retail store and the reasons we don't allow dogs are:

1) General liability - We are, in the best case financial scenario , partially legally liable for what happens in our store. If the dog bites someone, knocks a display over onto someone, breaks product, trips someone with their leash, urinates/defecates one the floor and a slip and fall happens, ect, ect we are liable. Basically we don't want to be sued.

2) Some people have allergies.

3) Retail stores are open to all people and everyone entering should be to go about their business in peace, including those children and adults who are scared of dogs.

4) Any dog that comes into the store must be a licenced service dog with tags. No tags means the dog doesn't come into the store, including "comfort" dogs.

I love dogs, have a dog myself, but a store unrealted to pets is no place for animals. Again it's a store open to everyone, it's not like people allergic/fearful/just don't like dogs are going to a dog park and complaining there are dogs there. They avoid that place, dog owners can avoid bring their dogs into the store. Courtesy goes both ways.

Also even when it's summer and it's hot outside, that doesn't magically absolve us from legal liability. When informed your dog isn't allowed to be in store, don't get indignant and say "It's hot, what am I supposed to do with my dog?"
The answer is "Not bring it into the store".
Summer doesn't just sneak up on us one day out of the blue, it literally happens every year. It also gets hot during the summer, this is also not a new thing either. Getting angry, acting like a meteorologist and informing me of the current weather conditions isn't going to change the fact your dog is still not coming into the store. Either figure it or don't, as long as your dog stays outside it's not my or anyone elses problem.

 

[CosmicQueso]

what if i said i need marijuana for my mental health and started stinking up the apartment with the smell and you were my neighbor and had to smell it?

You just described every apartment in Los Angeles.

 

[MechaX]

Personally, I don't think I have ever seen a non service/therapy dog in a store outside of Petsmart/Petco/etc.

But I'm cool with Therapy or Service dogs in those kinds of settings (mainly because those are likely to be very well trained as opposed to dogs that will just bark and shit everywhere in public due to dubious training and conditioning).

its not the claims to mental illness i have issues with but being inconsiderate towards other people for the sake of your own personal wellbeing

what if i said i need marijuana for my mental health and started stinking up the apartment with the smell and you were my neighbor and had to smell it?

The problem with this line of thought is that there are legit Therapy dogs placed with people with severe, documented issues (PTSD, severe anxiety, pretty much the type of conditions you would be likely to get Social Security for). Yeah, people are going to abuse it, but at least try to see it from their perspective.

 

[Naudi]

Dog are annoying in public, too many people think they have a baby when in reality it's a puppy....not the same thing people.

 

[CosmicQueso]

Dog are annoying in public, too many people think they have a baby when in reality it's a puppy....not the same thing people.

It's not the same thing. Babies are louder, smell worse and their parents and the SUV strollers and the yelling about and to their baby are far more annoying.

 

[Nealand Liquor]

It's not the same thing. Babies are louder, smell worse and their parents and the SUV strollers and the yelling about and to their baby are far more annoying.

You're right, it's not the same thing. Parents aren't legally entitiled to leave their babies at home alone while they shop. Also babies are humans and afforded rights as such under the law.
Animals are not people, even baby people.

 

[knkng]

I've owned dogs all my life, but I honestly can't stand when I see someone bring their dog into a place where it really should not be, such as a grocery store or department store.

As for the people comparing their dogs to others humans, what kind of insane level of entitlement do you have to be operating on to make that kind of comparison? Some people are dirty, some people are noisy, and kids can be annoying, but they all have fundamental humans rights, and your dog does not. They are entitled to enter a store to purchase food, your dog is not. And beyond your own sense of self satisfaction, there is absolutely zero reason for you to ever bring your dog into a grocery store (with the exception of assistance dogs, of course). Using this logic you can justify any selfish thing you desire, since you can always fall back on "other people are worse!"

I don't know how well your dog is trained or maintained, and since it doesn't need to be there, please just keep it out of the grocery store.

 

[HawkeyeIC]

I live in Chicago and take my German Shepherd to almost any place that SPECIFICALLY allows dogs, but i couldn't imagine taking her into a Target or even a Home Depot. A full on grocery store would just be gross.

 

[Curler]

I manage a big box retail store and the reasons we don't allow dogs are:

Pretty much these. It's not that retail people don't like dogs, but there are things that go along with them, as far as liability goes. I see a lot of comparison on here with dogs and babies/children, but there are differences, since it's more a case of an "annoyance" being presented, however dogs can cause an actual danger to people. That is the one thing that is clear.

My dog actually gets anxiety around other people and dogs when going for walks, so I never want to put him into a position where he would get really scared and try to defend himself. I can't trust that every dog will be a good dog, and being in a closed space like a store, can be more problematic than being in the open space of outside.

 

[TheCochese]

I see we're headed for babies vs dogs, and that always ends well.

 

[Nealand Liquor]

Pretty much these. It's not that retail people don't like dogs, but there are things that go along with them, as far as liability goes. I see a lot of comparison on here with dogs and babies/children, but there are differences, since it's more a case of an "annoyance" being presented, however dogs can cause an actual danger to people. That is the one thing that is clear.

My dog actually gets anxiety around other people and dogs when going for walks, so I never want to put him into a position where he would get really scared and try to defend himself. I can't trust that every dog will be a good dog, and being in a closed space like a store, can be more problematic than being in the open space of outside.

Don't forget things like loud sudden noises and strangers being too friendly/touchy-feely can cause a dog to get scared/defensive and create an out of nature reaction. Besides there's the safety aspect for the animal itself people need to consider. I've seen sgopper hit full grown adults with carts and such, even medium to large-sized dog could get seriously hurt.

 

[BlitzerRadic]

It's not the same thing. Babies are louder, smell worse and their parents and the SUV strollers and the yelling about and to their baby are far more annoying.

Are you really advocating that a dog which is considered to be property, to have the same rights as a baby, which is a human person?

 

[Timedog]

If its German Shepherds its okay.

 

[Naudi]

You're right, it's not the same thing. Parents aren't legally entitiled to leave their babies at home alone while they shop. Also babies are humans and afforded rights as such under the law.
Animals are not people, even baby people.

Lol so good.

 

[Eye for an Eye]

I took this picture to show my friend, who has a service dog.


An Emotional Support Animal is only permitted to live with a tenant if there is a no pet policy in an apartment. A doctor's note must be provided to the landlord and the landlord cannot impose any fees or deposits for the animal.

ADA does not require a Service Animal to wear any sort of identification, but most owners do use vests to keep people from interacting with the dog when working. There are psychiatric service animals that deal with PTSD, autistic kids, and other mental health issues. They are trained to perform a certain task for the owner if the owner has an attack.

 

[Timedog]

I'll take dogs anywhere no one can stop me. I'll take 100 dogs if I please.

 

[zer0das]

I haven't seen it that frequently. I will say it does annoy me, because I have allergies and pets tend to be quite dirty even if they're cleaned often. I'm not particularly allergic to dogs, but I feel for people who are.

Also I see this creep into other areas of life. Like there's a higher up where I work who has a dog, and there's not supposed to be dogs in the building. But he's got employees volunteering to dog sit and they bring the dog in.. he gets free dog care and the dog isn't supposed to be there. If anyone lower on the totem pole did this they'd probably be getting severely reprimanded or fired, I imagine.

 

[cwmartin]

Both Lowes and Home Depot are dog friendly fyi. Specifically. It's not that they aren't not anit-dog.

 

[Eye for an Eye]

Both Lowes and Home Depot are dog friendly fyi. Specifically. It's not that they aren't not anit-dog.

Actually, there is a no pet policy, but employees don't actively enforce it.

 

[Lord Fagan]

I don't mind dogs, but I also enjoy a certain division between them and the commercial world, or perhaps just courteous limitations. Sure, they can come in pet stores, or gyms or something. No, they don't belong at restaurants or grocery stores. But what about hotels? Airports? And I like to think there's a baseline decency in not just accommodating for the handicapped, but for kindness to animals generally.

But a therapy animal? Maybe I'm just getting old, but that sounds like a living teddy bear.

If it's a legit service dog, there ought to be a way to have some kind of common prevalent tag on their collar that can override a general rule that a business can rule at will the pets aren't allowed. I don't know if that opens a can of worms with people getting high and mighty about the civil rights of their pets or government nanny state complaints (because I just prepare for that kind of reaction, now), but as has been said in this thread, the potential to abuse cultural norms and the threat to sanitation standards seems obvious, especially for some very enthusiastic pet owners just not caring what you think, they had to bring their ferret with them to the emergency room because their occupational therapist kindly Dr. It-Doesn't-Really-Matter-Anyway wrote them a note giving them permission that they forgot to bring with them as they tried to secure the mammal while not dripping too much blood chasing it around the house before they could finally make their way to fix whatever finger they cut off.

It's tricky. I may lean on the side that the interests of the humans override those of the other species, but I think there can be a middle ground. Question is if people are willing to be reasonable about it. I doubt it, so I guess I'll just get used to it.

 

[Dahellisdat]

I was in a Lowes a couple weeks ago and some dude brought his dog in with him. It took a massive shit on the floor in front of the paint mixing area. He just stood there like an idiot looking around waiting for an employee to come help him clean up his dogs shit. Didn't even have a poop bag with him or anything to clean up after his pet.

Service animals are trained and that's cool. Everyone else, just leave your dogs at home. They'll be ok if they don't go shopping or out to eat with you.

 

[Sakura]

Unless it is a service dog, there is no good reason to bring a dog into a store. "Because I want to" is extremely selfish. The dog won't die if it doesn't go shopping with you. Some people are extremely frightened by dogs, have allergies, etc and it isn't right to make people feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Have a bit of consideration. It's a pet, not your child.

 

[Stinkles]

Unless it is a service dog, there is no good reason to bring a dog into a store. "Because I want to" is extremely selfish. The dog won't die if it doesn't go shopping with you. Some people are extremely frightened by dogs, have allergies, etc and it isn't right to make people feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Have a bit of consideration. It's a pet, not your child.

"Why should I care if you or your child is afraid or allergic to dogs? YOU should fix those things, not me. If you adopt a pitbull (BTW they are not putbulls anyway, just a range of breeds that idiots think are pitbulls, but even if it was a pitbull it's the owners not the dogs and anyway a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's mouth and something something etc etc etc"


I actually love dogs, and I get mildly bent out of shape when I'm not allowed to pet service dogs, ironically, but a small but visible percentage of dog owners act like it wasn't a choice and they were simply born with a dog and get all Penn State/Patriots about any criticism or issue.

 

[Stinkles]

I notice this at school. Some people brings dogs on campus some without a leash and they're clearly not even ESA or service dogs in any sense. Didn't know it's a trend publicly though. I guess it's better than prescribing medication.

I'm not complaining about people with real medical needs. If they need medicine, but a dog would do the same thing, then generally I'd probably rather they have a dog. I'm talking about people who abuse an easy to abuse system to get a "prescription" from their doc claiming they "need" a service animal. When in fact they just like their dog a lot. Or don't give a shit about you. Or just want a free pass for dog stuff. I'd love to tell you this is rare, but it's not. And I now know a dispropotionate number of people with "service animals" who simply abused a system. I also know at least two people who have them for genuine reasons - and I'm absolutely not talking about partially sighted or blind people. Who basically have 100% pass IMO. The fact that I know about ten to twelve people with such dogs should be troubling anyway. I only know one blind guy.

 

[mercenar1e]

I was in a Lowes a couple weeks ago and some dude brought his dog in with him. It took a massive shit on the floor in front of the paint mixing area. He just stood there like an idiot looking around waiting for an employee to come help him clean up his dogs shit. Didn't even have a poop bag with him or anything to clean up after his pet.

he should have been forced to clean it up with his tongue.

 

[Stinkles]

I was in a Lowes a couple weeks ago and some dude brought his dog in with him. It took a massive shit on the floor in front of the paint mixing area. He just stood there like an idiot looking around waiting for an employee to come help him clean up his dogs shit. Didn't even have a poop bag with him or anything to clean up after his pet.

Service animals are trained and that's cool. Everyone else, just leave your dogs at home. They'll be ok if they don't go shopping or out to eat with you.

Sherwin Williams - Fido Sunset Ochre

 

[Eye for an Eye]

I'm not complaining about people with real medical needs. If they need medicine, but a dog would do the same thing, then generally I'd probably rather they have a dog. I'm talking about people who abuse an easy to abuse system to get a "prescription" from their doc claiming they "need" a service animal. When in fact they just like their dog a lot. Or don't give a shit about you. Or just want a free pass for dog stuff. I'd love to tell you this is rare, but it's not. And I now know a dispropotionate number of people with "service animals" who simply abused a system. I also know at least two people who have them for genuine reasons - and I'm absolutely not talking about partially sighted or blind people. Who basically have 100% pass IMO. The fact that I know about ten to twelve people with such dogs should be troubling anyway. I only know one blind guy.

Service dogs are trained to perform a task. There's hundreds and thousands of tasks a dog can accomplish that the owner needs. I've known psychiatric dogs, dogs for the deaf, dogs for those wheelchair bound. There was a cool series, I think it was filmed in Canada, that showed various working dogs in different situations. I won't discredit a service dog, no matter the circumstance, but without a vest or identification and proper behavior, it's a pet and pets are not service animals.

 

[Psychoward]

Yeah those fucking weirdos and their mental illnesses! /s

I would rather have my therapy dog and feel emotion then shovel a bunch of pills down my throat and feel dead inside.

I shovel a bunch of pills down my throat and hardly feel dead inside

 

[Neverwinter27]

What about bringing other pets into stores and restaurants, like waterbugs?

 

[RageWaffles]

In what universe would a dog owner have their dog shit in a store and then make an employee clean it up?

This universe.

I used to work at a pet store, so obviously pets were allowed, but a lot people would just let their dogs piss and shit in the store and just walk away from the mess.

 

[Ronin Ray]

We take my mom's dogs both small one a weenie dog and the other a poodle mix into Lowes and home depot.

 

[Elwood Blues]

I assume most people do it for attention. They want people to come over to pet their dog and tell them how cute it is.

 

[PKrockin]

Unless it is a service dog, there is no good reason to bring a dog into a store. "Because I want to" is extremely selfish. The dog won't die if it doesn't go shopping with you. Some people are extremely frightened by dogs, have allergies, etc and it isn't right to make people feel uncomfortable or unsafe. Have a bit of consideration. It's a pet, not your child.

I wouldn't bring a dog to most stores either, but this kind of reads like you're really arguing dogs shouldn't be brought anywhere they could encounter other people. Sorry Fido, no walk down the street, beach, hiking trail or park for you. It's important to develop your dog's social skills by exposing them to people and other dogs regularly, otherwise they will become anxious and/or aggressive and likely to bite.

 

[Oppo]

So, yes. Toronto here.

Many people will walk their dogs into businesses without explicit no dogs signs.

And it's not a problem. As long as the place is not selling open food, it's up to the discretion of the business owner.

I've seen this at MEC, Canadian Tire, Shoppers Drug Mart, tons of places. You can book a multitude of hotels with dogs, no problem. Transit as well of course, outside of rush hour. No sign = it's fine.

i don't see the problem as long as they're leashed.

And frankly i don't care if someone gets pissy about it.

 

[Electric Eye]

I can't even stand pets at the park when I run. They shit all over the place and no one picks it up and some people's dogs have no business being around strangers I can't tell you how many time I've had a dog lunge at me despite making sure I move out of its way. Keep your sad ass and your dogs home or where designated.

 

[Beerman462]

Look.....

Dogs are great, but if everyone brought their dogs to the store it would be chaos. You and your dog are not special. Leave em at home please.

 

[KahooTs]

Disgusting stuff, not an issue here thankfully.

 

[Oppo]

Look.....

Dogs are great, but if everyone brought their dogs to the store it would be chaos. You and your dog are not special. Leave em at home please.

it's really not. somehow huge chunks of Europe manage it without a pogrom breaking out.

 

[Ogodei]

I haven't seen this happen. Sole exception was tiny dogs back when i was working a gas station, but i just let it slide because they were strapped to the person way up off the ground.

 

[Beerman462]

it's really not. somehow huge chunks of Europe manage it without a pogrom breaking out.

Almost 50% of all households in the US have dogs. If you have ever been to a Wal-Mart in the US you would realize that if half the people brought even one dog it would be an issue.

 

[GoldenDarkness]

I take my GSDs everywhere with me except into restaurants in Cleveland Ohio. I haven't had any issues. They behave better than the children running around screaming and getting in peoples way. If people don't like it tough luck, stores are getting more and more dog friendly these days.

 

[Timedog]

I'll do whatever it takes to get dogs into this retail store.

 

[Oppo]

Almost 50% of all households in the US have dogs. If you have ever been to a Wal-Mart in the US you would realize that if half the people brought even one dog it would be an issue.

same as a Canada. i live in a city the size of Chicago. No, it's not a problem. if the business owner has no problem with dogs and not serving open food (which is of course illegal) then you can deal or go elsewhere.

a problem dog is a problem anywhere. it's not limited to stores. the owner is responsible. dog acts badly, it's on the owner.

way way way too many people just don't like dogs and make a bunch of useless noise about it. with all due respect, if i'm not breaking the law, they can moan all they like.

 

[Sakura]

I wouldn't bring a dog to most stores either, but this kind of reads like you're really arguing dogs shouldn't be brought anywhere they could encounter other people. Sorry Fido, no walk down the street, beach, hiking trail or park for you. It's important to develop your dog's social skills by exposing them to people and other dogs regularly, otherwise they will become anxious and/or aggressive and likely to bite.

I think there is a big difference between say a park and an aisle at a store.
In a big open space, someone who has a fear of dogs would have to go out of their way to get near enough to a dog (unless the dog has a shitty owner) but there isn't really much you can do if you are in a line up for the register and the guy right behind you has his dog with him.
It's not like I hate pets, we've had dogs and cats since I was a child. But it is not difficult to be a little considerate and not take the dog into the shops with you.
Taking a dog for a walk is good for the dog, taking it into the store really serves no purpose other than to satisfy yourself, possibly at the expense of other people's comfort.

 

[Beerman462]

same as a Canada. i live in a city the size of Chicago. No, it's not a problem. if the business owner has no problem with dogs and not serving open food (which is of course illegal) then you can deal or go elsewhere.

a problem dog is a problem anywhere. it's not limited to stores. the owner is responsible. dog acts badly, it's on the owner.

In a perfect world yes, but if everyone feels empowered to bring their dog to the store it eventually will be a problem. Right now it's maybe once a week that I see a "service" dog in a store. If you had 50% of customers bringing their dogs to the store it would absolutely be an issue regardless of liability. In my opinion people that bring their non-service dogs to the store have a false sense of entitlement.

 

[Opto]

Depending on the type of store, bringing in your pets can be considered an OSHA violation. Local pharmacy had to put up a sign stating as much

 

[Beerman462]

I think there is a big difference between say a park and an aisle at a store.
In a big open space, someone who has a fear of dogs would have to go out of their way to get near enough to a dog (unless the dog has a shitty owner) but there isn't really much you can do if you are in a line up for the register and the guy right behind you has his dog with him.
It's not like I hate pets, we've had dogs and cats since I was a child. But it is not difficult to be a little considerate and not take the dog into the shops with you.
Taking a dog for a walk is good for the dog, taking it into the store really serves no purpose other than to satisfy yourself, possibly at the expense of other people's comfort.

Yep.