Millie, the Goldendoodle is a regularly seen on 19th between Roy and Mercer where her human, Mary, runs Moonjar. Millie was recently found at Fuel Coffee, patiently waiting for her treat as Mary waited for hers. Millie “leans in” for pets and ear scratches and has been spoiled by the baristas at Fuel.
We ask photographer Alex Garland to follow marchers in the rain and do crazy things like trying to make yet another picture of yet another huge apartment building look interesting. We thought we’d ask him to do something a little more fun. Capitol Hill Pets is a semi-regular look at our furry, fuzzy, feathered, and finned friends found out and about on Capitol Hill.
Question – are dogs legally allowed inside cafes/bars/restaurants? What about grocery stores? I ask because dogs are pretty much everywhere these days.
I don’t know the legal answer, but personally prefer dogs over toddlers when dining.
It is in fact a violation of FDA regulation, State law and County/City health codes. Probably not helpful to this business to show them on a public site blatantly violating the law. I’m sure they’ll be hearing from their inspector soon.
I disagree heartily with the regulations around this in cafes (dogs should be allowed if the owner chooses to allow them), but I agree – not smart to identify a cafe that allows people to bring their dogs in.
I might agree with you if I hadn’t worked in the service industry most of my life and known for a fact that most food service workers don’t wash their hands after petting dogs. Hell, half the baristas handle food right after touching cash! Which is also against the code.
All that said, it would take a change in FDA regulations to over turn the law as it is, which is unlikely. So businesses should be good citizens and enforce the health laws they are bound by. Clearly the owners of Fuel Coffee are not good citizens and feel like they can flout the law.
Agree with all of you. It’s also a mockery of people who really need service animals when people bring pets with them.
Obviously they are service dogs! Right? ;-)
I believe they’re not allowed where food is prepared, citing health concerns. I think it’s sad that people feel the need to take their dog literally everywhere with them – to work, to the grocery, to eat, to get a coffee. Not sure who’s codependent on who – but it’s a pet – it can stay at home for crap’s sake.
Did I read that correctly…
Baristas are petting and “spoiling” non service animals in clear disregard of health regulations?
I wanted to show the manager of a large grocery store my dog when she was a puppy (carrying her in my arms, without letting her down) some time ago. I asked the very kind and tolerant clerks if it was okay and they told me that everybody claims their dogs are service dogs so, they can’t say anything. I nonetheless carried her in and did not let her down just that one time but have noticed since that an awful lot of people bring their dogs into the grocery store. I couldn’t do that with my dog now as I have no doubt whatsoever she would go “shopping” on her own and I would walk out with all kinds of “taste-tested” merchandise I never intended to buy!
In all fairness to the businesses and their employees, I agree with a previous poster in that people ought to leave their dogs at home when they go shopping — unless they are blind or disabled, of course.
Actually, business owners or employees *can* say something if they think that someone is trying to pass their pet off as a service dog. They can and should be polite and respectful, but this idea that “service dog” is the magic word to get little four-pound Fluffy in her designer carrying bag into any place of business is just not correct.
“When it is not obvious what service an animal provides, only limited inquiries are allowed. Staff may ask two questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability, and (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform. Staff cannot ask about the person’s disability…”
Full requirements and guidelines are here:
http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm
@Robin: You’re kidding, right? “Little four pound Fluffy in her designer carrying bag” . . . WHAT??? Try a homeless person who is armed with a knife and will not listen to the police much less some “polite” store employee. Don’t know where you shop, sweetie, but I don’t blame these people in the least for not confronting people.
I love my dog but it is a pet. I keep it at home or on a leash. I do not inflict it on shoppers, diners or airplane passengers. The abuse of service dog claims is endemic and unfortunate. It cries out for balance, so that there is some meaningful evidence that a given dog has indeed been trained to perform a function in response to a documented disability. Anyone can get a vest online and anyone can find a quack to write a letter. And dogs can’t detect seizures or determine when someone’s insulin is low.
And dogs are not therapists. They may provide emotional support but this is a definition of a pet. Emotional support animals are not service animals. A claim that one has their anxiety alleviated by their animal is well and good, but not at the expense of the public.
I have seen service parrots at Costco, read about service turkeys on planes. The list of craziness continues. I have been in too many planes to mention where there is a dog at someone’s foot.
And just because a person is a Veteran does not mean they get to make claims that they need their dog.
How many people abuse the regs to get their pets into rentals that don’t allow pets.
I look forward to a brave person saying no, and defending themselves successfully in litigation, perhaps leading to some court decisions that will define the matter more clearly.
Keep your pets at home, not in stores, shopping carts and the like. Pets are a personal indulgence of great value to their owners but they do not grow up to pay taxes, useful public service or other social good that warrant the general public having to tolerate them, unlike babies and kids.
I hope that all of these comments don’t mean that CHS and Alex Garland will stop taking pictures of pets and featuring them online. I love these pictures and stories.
Agreed. I love these spots. Thank you, Alex.
Yeah, I love this series! Personally, in my daily travels on Capitol Hill, I’d prefer to see more pets and fewer humans.
Millie is a beautiful creature and looks like a smarty-pants as well. Hope to see you around, Millie!
The worst “enabler” locally is the Broadway Market QFC…..always several dogs in there at any one time, while management looks the other way. Very few of these dogs are service animals.
Recently, I witnessed a dog in that store lick an item on the shelf while the oblivious owner was distracted. I love dogs, but except for true service animals they have no place in a grocery store.
It’s truly not the fault of the management or the employees at that QFC, Bob. They have a sign posted “Service Animals ONLY” at all of the entrances/exits but people just ignore these. I witnessed one unfortunate employee attempting to tell a customer that their dog was not allowed in the store some time ago and the person just went ballistic. Plus, they get an awful lot of street people who are delicately balanced, to phrase it mildly, and I can understand that it simply isn’t worth it to potentially become involved in what might amount to a violent confrontation. I think they have chosen the most peaceful course of action for themselves and their other customers.
I shop daily at this QFC and trust me the offending patrons are not the “crazy” street people, it’s the entitled yuppies who think the rules are for everyone else to follow.
This isn’t a hard or ambiguous rule to enforce and the restaurants and groceries on the hill are blatantly ignoring the rules. I used to run a coffee shop downtown and got my rear end handed to me on a regular basis for dog complaints. The Health Department needs to crack down and institute harsher punishments on these on these businesses. If you can’t play by the rules you shouldn’t be given a permit or allowed to keep one.
I agree. The vast majority of those with dogs at this store are not crazy street people….they are regular folks who feel entitled to ignore the rules. Why they can’t leave their dog at home for a little while is beyond me.
I think that dealing with this issue should not be the responsibility of the regular staff, but it should be done by the on-site managers, with backup as necessary by security.
Well, so much for a photo of a lovely dog and a perfectly innocent write-up. I am so relieved that I don’t have to work for the general public in any capacity.
Sometimes I wish there were more adorable dogs like this one in public places and businesses rather than all you cranky complainers commenting on this thread.
precious millie!