You can't bring a dog in here!

[gunsage]

We had snotty people leave dog shit all over the promenade here arguing with the keeper "DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?" and refuse to clean their dog poop after themselves...

You know, I'm not much of a dog person. Granted, you're not going to find me going around doing malicious things to dogs and I'm not saying I have a phobia, I just don't like them. This is probably because I'm a somewhat lazy but still tidy person. As a result, I don't have the stamina to own a dog nor do I have the desire to be covered in slobber. Thus, I'm not a dog person.

And yes, this could start all kinds of mayhem, but I'd rather it didn't, so allow me to return to topic. If I had an owner come in with a dog crapping all over the place, I might not be employed the next day, but this is what I'd do...

Me: "Hey dumbass. Your mutt shit on the floor."
SC: "WHY NO HE DIDN'T AND DON'T CALL MITZY A MUTT!"

No, I don't know why I chose Mitzy. Probably because it rhymes with ritzy. And I equate ritzy to super snob. ANYWAY...

Me: *Grabs back of owner's head and rubs it in dog shit* "There's some to go with your shit attitude."
SC: "Guh...some what?"
Me: *Thrusts owner's face back in the dog shit* "Some SHIT! GTFO!"



This is why I don't work retail anymore.

[Seshat]

Thats neat, I didn`t know there were service animals like that!

Yes, there's quite a variety of service animals nowadays. I didn't know cats could detect seizures, but some dogs of all breeds are seizure detectors. (Apparently some cats are too, now.) Some animals can also detect more subtle things than seizures, and can warn people with a variety of mental and physical disorders that a crisis is about to happen.

There are seeing-eye miniature horses, as well as the many seeing eye dogs. There are dogs (and, I've heard, some of the smarter birds) who are 'hearing-ear' animals and have learned to respond to important sounds and notify their 'person'. There are animals who fetch things for the wheelchair-bound (usually dogs, but also others), and even dogs (and maybe mini-horses again) who are being trained to pull wheelchairs.

However, the standard of behaviour for service animals is high. The animal must be under verbal or hand-signal control, must not get overexcited or forget that it's on duty, must stay with its handler, and must be housetrained (except for some species who simply don't have the appropriate muscles). My friend tells me her seeing-eye dog is expected to sit under her chair and under the table when she's in a restaurant or similar setting, so that noone trips over her.

If a service animal is not being polite and well-behaved, please try to find out where the animal was trained, and notify that organisation: the disabled who use service animals want a good reputation for service animals! We* want our animals to continue to be welcome wherever we want to do. Many service animals wear a harness or coat when they're on duty, which will usually have the name of the training organisation on it. The harness or coat is both a reminder to the animal to stay focussed, and a signal to the general public that this is a service animal.

* okay. Technically 'they', but when I'm out with my blind friend and her dog, it feels like 'we'.

[Whyme]

When I worked for a major coffee chain I became extra vigilant about no dogs in the store after an owner let his dog poop on the floor and then walked out to sit on the patio without cleaning it up. Hell, he didn't even tell us about it. I may have posted under my old name on this board (which I can't remember).

People are either very kind or get very psychotic when we tell them their animals aren't allowed in our grocery store. "Where am I supposed to put my dog?", you could have left it at home, it's a grocery store not Petsmart. What do you with your dog when your at work? Why is this even an issue? Not a good idea to leave the dog in your car either. That's against the law in in my part of AZ and other customers WILL call the law on you ASAP and the police come immediately.

We had a lady coming in for awhile who insisted to the point of rudeness her Daschund (sp?) was her service dog...he helped her find her purse...which was next to him in the cart. Finally our new manager asked to see the dog's service animal permit (I think that's the right name) and she couldn't provide one. He said when she provides it she can bring back the dog. She hasn't brought the dog back in since I smile because we always suspected it wasn't any kind of service dog. It's not like the dog did anything when she needed her purse. It was nice, quiet dog, no problems with it, it just couldn't be in our grocery store due to health violations.

We had an assistant manager tell one lady she could shop with her dog "This time". Grr! Luckily the main manager overrode the assistant and said no deal. Lady was not happy. A.M. should have known better than to say that in the first place.

I have actually had more of an issue with this in the grocery store then I did the coffee chain. I don't know if all the pics of Paris Hilton/Britney taking their dogs into stores make people think they can just bring their own dogs anywhere or what, but it's gotten ridiculous.

[Saydrah]

I do shop with my dog, but only if I have called ahead and ensured that a well-behaved dog is welcome in the store. He goes fabric shopping, to the hardware store, and of course to pet stores, and is very welcome. We use the time as an excellent training session- he gets to learn that ignoring people when he hasn't been given permission to go say hello is mandatory, and other shoppers who ask questions get to learn about clicker training!

However, I would never enter a store where he is not welcome with him anyway, or demand that he be allowed entrance. If Gus is with me and I can't make one of the stops on my errand list, oh well! I will do it another time and/or find a dog friendly place to run that errand. I don't leave him at home or in the car unless I absolutely MUST.

As for service dogs *points to signature* I wrote a summary for my employer of the accepted manner to treat service dogs in stores. Yes, some dogs in shopping carts or being carried ARE service dogs and have public access rights. No, you may not ask for proof. However, if a service dog is disrupting business, such as barking in a movie theater or snarling at customers, you have the right to demand that it be removed.

[greensinestro]

This is South Florida, and many of the SC's who bring dogs into stores have nasty personalities to begin with. I think many places of business do not welcome pets into their stores, because of the previous incident mentioned, like cleaning up after the animal. I myself have seen people that walk their dogs in a park, or on the sidewalk, and just let the dog do its thing without cleaning up after it.

Reminds me of a story from long ago. We lived down near a place called Margate, and this old woman, who was probably about 75 at the time, would walk her dog down our street. This woman actually dressed up with her best clothes, jewelry, and block high heeled red shoes. A few times, she had let her dog shit on our driveway, and when my dad confronted her, she said "It's a free country. My dog can go where he wants to!" Well, after about the third time of this, my dad followed this woman to see what house she lived at. After he found out, he took his shovel, shoveled up the dogshit she left, put it in his truck, then drove to the front of her house. When he arrived, he got the shovel out, with the dogshit still on it, and dumped it on her driveway. She came out, upset and said, "What are you doing to my precious driveway?" His reply was, "Oh, it's a free country, and I was just returning something you left on my driveway!" She never walked her dog down our street again after that.

[Parrothead]

My new job is at a kennel that also provides daycare for dogs that have the temperament and attitude to get along with other dogs all day.

[calstateworker]

New one to me

The other day, I saw a woman shopping at one of the big box stores in town carrying a good sized back pack. She unzipped it and it opened up to reveal a fully functional bird cage. She had what I think was a small cockatiel in there, and she just chattered along to the bird during their excursion. They seem real happy together.