Rant: Pets where they ought not be...

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I just realized this thread is the answer to my mini-farm dreams. I'm getting service chickens! I'll only make them wear the little vests when we go out to Walmart though.

[gardenmom5]

This thread reminds me of when I last went to Barnes and Noble.  There was a lady there with a service goat.  Yesirree, a little, smelly goat with a service vest on.  The smell was so bad I had to leave the area.   :ack2:

I've thought about getting a service goat.  It would have to fend for itself and eat up all the blackberry vines growing in the salal.  of course it would eat the salal too. . . . .but my yard isn't fenced, would that be a problem or would they just eat the fence too?

[Catwoman]

I've thought about getting a service goat. It would have to fend for itself and eat up all the blackberry vines growing in the salal. of course it would eat the salal too. . . . .but my yard isn't fenced, would that be a problem or would they just eat the fence too?

:D :D :D :D

 

I have no idea, but I'll admit it would be pretty cool to drive down the highway with my service goat sticking his head out of the car window.

 

And I would be known all over my neighborhood as the Crazy Goat Lady.

 

With my luck, though, my goat would be both a biter and a kicker. :glare:

[Dmmetler]

Well, snakes are sometimes used in mental health treatment (the study I read used them in hospital settings, particularly for teen/young adults)-so maybe I should get DD's snake a vest (or, maybe, a tube?) I do think having the snake draped over her helps her stay calm at home-but I'm guessing that particular "comfort animal" might raise the anxiety of others!

[Callie]

This thread reminds me why I don't eat at potlucks or bake sales--we all have different standards.

Yep.

[Guest submarines]

I doubt they clean the tables very often.  The tables/chairs are those metal mesh type and are shared between Starbucks, the Thai restaurant, and a little burger joint.  I have never seen anyone clean them.  Usually people get up, throw out their garbage, and leave, and then other people sit down at the tables before anyone comes by to clean them.  When I sit there, I spread napkins out like a table cloth before I eat/drink my coffee.

If they don't clean the table, that little dog is the least of your worries.

 

But since there are seemingly no epidemics occurring after millions of people sit at non-disinfected or poorly disinfected tables in restaurants, patios, picnic tables and so on, the vast majority of those places are safe for a normally functioning immune system.

 

If the dog bothers you (the collective you) so much, you should really not eat restaurants. What if your waiter scratched her (use your imagination, could be as benign as her infected eye) before touching your plate?

 

What if the last person who sat at your table has a contagious disease?

 

Germs are everywhere.

 

I'd rather see a fellow human enjoying companionship of a dog, than worry about all the possible sources germs could land on my table.

 

And if you were sick from seeing the dog on the table, don't fool yourself. Worse things have been on that table, and no, they aren't disinfected regularly if at all.

 

This is why we have immune systems and the ability to discern what truly poses a health risk and what doesn't.

[SamuelsMommy]

Dd and I were in Wall Mart (of course it was Wall Mart lol) a few weeks ago. A lady had a monkey in square cage type of thing with wheels and a handle and was pushing it around . On top of the cage thing was a sign saying it was a service animal.

 

We actually were out walking in a tourist area one day and saw a woman with a monkey service animal.  My brother in law is a nosy person and asked the woman what the monkey did.  She had really bad arthritis and didn't have good use of her hands.  The monkey did things for her like open bottles, pick up things, etc.  She gave us a demonstration of him opening a bottle of water.  It was pretty cool but I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it.

[swellmomma]

Well, snakes are sometimes used in mental health treatment (the study I read used them in hospital settings, particularly for teen/young adults)-so maybe I should get DD's snake a vest (or, maybe, a tube?) I do think having the snake draped over her helps her stay calm at home-but I'm guessing that particular "comfort animal" might raise the anxiety of others!

Funny I just had a talk with my mom last night about the purpose of having snakes as pets.  She is convinced a snake is not a suitable pet because you don't anything back in return from them.  I contend that you don't get any pet with the expectation to get something back, But I should totally make service snake tubes(they'd be pretty small, our snakes are babies) and show her they have a purpose. :)

 

Given how many pets I actually have, I think I better make myself a vest and label myself their service person :lol:

[Dandelion]

This thread is awesome.   :lol:

 

Maybe Justin Bieber's monkey is actually a service monkey?   :smilielol5:

[Catwoman]

This thread is awesome. :lol:

 

Maybe Justin Bieber's monkey is actually a service monkey? :smilielol5:

Perhaps it serves as his brain. He certainly doesn't seem to have one of his own. ;)

[QuirkyKapers]

This thread is awesome.   :lol:

 

Maybe Justin Bieber's monkey is actually a service monkey?   :smilielol5:

 

 

Perhaps it serves as his brain. He certainly doesn't seem to have one of his own. ;)

 

That must be why he was naked.  The service monkey helped him out of his clothes and helpfully gave him a guitar to wear instead  :001_rolleyes:

[Dandelion]

That must be why he was naked.  The service monkey helped him out of his clothes and helpfully gave him a guitar to wear instead  :001_rolleyes:

 

Service monkey training fail. 

[Liz CA]

Dd claimed she had heard that cats were used to help with anxiety.  Perhaps the person had agoraphobia?  The whole thing was surrealistic -- an unusually large cat wearing a service vest, reclined on a special blanket in the shopping cart, looking very alert.  I was glad dd was along to confirm that I didn't dream this up.  

 

 

:) :) Large cat with a vest - the Cheshire cat, grinning?  :)

 

To OP, how awful that you thought you would enjoy a lunch and the experience ended up being less than pleasant because of people with no manners (both of them).

[gardenmom5]

This thread is awesome.   :lol:

 

Maybe Justin Bieber's monkey is actually a service monkey?   :smilielol5:

in that case, the monkey is a failure and needs to go back to training.  he's getting sillier and sillier and I would make no complaint if I never see a headline (or anything) mention of him again.

[LMA]

Actually, animals in a restaurant (other than service animals) is against the health code. You can call the health dept. for the restaurant letting the dog in and for letting the dog eat on the table. I'm surprised no one mentioned this.

[MyThreeSons]

This thread prompted me to do some research. What I have discovered, in no particular order:

 

The official ADA site says that the only animals that qualify under their regulations are dogs and, in certain cases, miniature horses (to pull wheelchairs). Other animals may be termed "therapy" or something like that, but those don't count in the regulations that say a business has to allow them to enter.

 

There are lots of places out there that sell certification letters for animals, most without ever even seeing the person or the animal.

 

The funny thing is that the ADA regulations do not require the service animal to be certified.

 

At least one of the aforementioned sites required the animal to be re-certified each year, and charges for it each year.

 

A business owner may ask a customer if the dog is truly a guide dog that helps with an actual disability, but may not ask what that disability is.

 

Even if the dog is legit, the business owner may kick it out if it commits certain bad behaviors: barking, biting, pooping, etc.

 

There is at least one organization (MARTA) that believes that hamsters somehow help people with extreme burns, and therefore has said that burn service hamsters may ride with their owners.

[zimom]

http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm

 

Mythreesons, you are correct. Only DOGS can be service animals (and in rare cases miniature horses), in the U.S., per the fairly new updated DOJ guidelines, so federal guidelines. Anyone claiming a cat, turtle, snake, etc is one of the many committing fraud. Additionally, emotional support animals and therapy dogs do not have public access rights.

 

My avatar is my daughter's wonderful service dog.

[Catwoman]

My avatar is my daughter's wonderful service dog.

Your daughter's dog is beautiful!!!

 

Beauty and brains -- that's a dog with the whole package! :hurray:

[Catwoman]

I have a book somewhere titled It's Hard to Look Cool When Your Car 's Full of Sheep!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

[Pawz4me]

Actually, animals in a restaurant (other than service animals) is against the health code. You can call the health dept. for the restaurant letting the dog in and for letting the dog eat on the table. I'm surprised no one mentioned this.

 

The OP says she was eating at an outside table.  I don't know about everywhere in the US, but here it's perfectly legal for dogs to be at outside cafes.  As far as germs on the table from the dog -- birds walk all over outside tables when no one's around.  They poop indiscriminately.  Squirrels also climb all over tables when no one's around, although I'm not so sure they'd poop on one.  Probably they would.  All things considered, I wouldn't be too concerned about the dog.

[LMA]

The OP says she was eating at an outside table.  I don't know about everywhere in the US, but here it's perfectly legal for dogs to be at outside cafes.  As far as germs on the table from the dog -- birds walk all over outside tables when no one's around.  They poop indiscriminately.  Squirrels also climb all over tables when no one's around, although I'm not so sure they'd poop on one.  Probably they would.  All things considered, I wouldn't be too concerned about the dog.

Actually, if the tables are part of the café, the dog is not allowed. I would still report it to the health dept. I still think it's disgusting to have an animal eating on top of a table. I ate someone's house for dinner years ago and the cats (!) ate on the table with us. There is a place of animals and it is not on top of a dinner table. I'm not even talking about germs, I'm just talking about propriety.

[Catwoman]

Actually, if the tables are part of the café, the dog is not allowed. I would still report it to the health dept. I still think it's disgusting to have an animal eating on top of a table. I ate someone's house for dinner years ago and the cats (!) ate on the table with us. There is a place of animals and it is not on top of a dinner table. I'm not even talking about germs, I'm just talking about propriety.

I agree that pets don't belong on the dinner table, particularly not in a public restaurant or cafe, but I don't think having a pet lying next to a table in an outdoor cafe is necessarily illegal. I'm sure the laws vary from one town to another. I have been in many pet-friendly places.

[Pawz4me]

Actually, if the tables are part of the café, the dog is not allowed.

 

State laws and health department regulations are what cover things like this.  And of course the laws and regulations vary from state to state.  There's no way anyone can say across-the-board whether it's legal or not.  Depends on where the OP lives.

[Catwoman]

State laws and health department regulations are what cover things like this. And of course the laws and regulations vary from state to state. There's no way anyone can say across-the-board whether it's legal or not. Depends on where the OP lives.

:iagree:

 

You said it better than I did! :)

[Hikin' Mama]

Okay, that's too disgusting to even think about (I will now be forever suspicious that outdoor tables are harboring dog butt germs), so I'm going to go off on a tangent about this instead:

 

We were in the electronics dept. at the back of a large Walmart, and someone had a service cat riding around in their cart. I can't fathom how they put the vest on the cat and drove it to Walmart, let alone stuck it in a cart and pushed the cart to the back of the store, all without the cat going bonkers. It had some credibility due to the sheer amount of labor required to do that. But I did wonder about other shoppers who might be highly allergic to cats.

Your story about the sevice cat is hilarious! I couldn't stop laughing. Thanks for sharing it. :)

[8circles]

According to the ADA, animals that help with anxiety etc. are not technically service animals.  They are "comfort animals" and do not come under the disability act.  http://www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm  But businesses basically have their  hands tied behind their back because they are not allowed to ask for any proof that the animal is a service animal.  

 

Interesting.  My last flight, there was a woman with a medium-sized dog in the front row of seats.  I thought it was strange because I was under the impression that dogs were supposed to be small & kept inside carriers on planes (or something similar).  But this was a not-small dog & was a bit noisy, needing comfort from it's owner.  I asked a flight attendant about it & she said it was a service dog for the woman's anxiety.  Seemed like the dog was more anxious than the human.  It didn't bother me but I thought it was strange & I think it's clear the woman was bending the rules.  Sucks for the people who need real service animals.

[Shamzanne]

The property management company I worked for had a complex of 32 apartments in which no pets were allowed. Someone spread the idea and the name of a doctor who would write a prescription for a service animal for depression and at one point 26 of the 32 apartments had a "service animal", one of which was a boa constrictor.

[Dana]

Sucks for the people who need real service animals.

And for people with allergies.

 

Dh has had hives from playing with our nephew in our house. Nephew has cats.

[scrapbookbuzz]

Another rant! Oh goody.

Actually I agree with you, OP.

But what I'd really like to know is... You mentioned a Starbucks in the same plaza... Was there a Fedex too? Was there a snooty looking lady at the Starbucks glaring at said doggie and who probably has the Health Department on speed-dial?

This whole thread is hilarious! But this cracked me up the most. Yeah, I read that other post, too. Oh.My.Goodness!

[Wendi]

Actually, animals in a restaurant (other than service animals) is against the health code. You can call the health dept. for the restaurant letting the dog in and for letting the dog eat on the table. I'm surprised no one mentioned this.

 

Lots of restaurants that have patios allow pets outside, so I'm guessing there is an exemption for outside pets.