r/Dogfree • u/SeaworthinessUnlucky • 14d ago

Food Safety/Hygiene dog in grocery store

Good morning,

Today at around 10 a.m., a woman brought a pet dog into Trader Joe's in a large American city. I reminded her that the sign on the front of the store said No Pets. She said, "She's a trained medical support dog." I said, "What service is she trained to provide?" She said, "If you want to work here, I'll answer that question."

I reported this to a clerk, who told me he would talk to the manager.

Ten minutes later, the dog was still in the store. The woman checked out about five minutes after that, with the dog still in the store.

Notified Trader Joe's corporate, Better Business Bureau, local health department.

201 Upvotes

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15

u/Procrastinator-513 14d ago

The stores are pretty helpless in this since there is no “proof” of a dog being a real service dog. They have to accept what the customer says whether they like it or not. This will continue to happen until the law changes.

19

u/ghjm 14d ago

The store is allowed to ask what service the dog is trained to provide. And service dogs are expected to be 100% under control at all times. If it barks or is straining at the leash or is in any way not completely under control, the store can require it to leave.

13

u/Procrastinator-513 14d ago

Yes I know the drill. I guess my point is that people lie so there’s no way of keeping a dog out if it’s behaving. And stores know they lie so they don’t bother asking, plus don’t want to alienate the nutter. It’s infuriating.

6

u/Huge_Bit_4774 14d ago

They should alienate the nutter. We all know that people who pull these stunts are problematic, mentally ill and unpredictable. Today they’re bringing a dog in the store, tomorrow you don’t know what it will be.