18/11/2024
Flirty and I made a trip to Costco, today! It was rather busy, considering that we went during the day. That’s okay, Flirty rocked it out of the park. She’s always such a good girl.
Unfortunately, we ran into a fake service dog/pet while we were there. It was a tiny dog riding in the seating area of the cart. 🤮 The good news is that it didn’t bother Flirty, but I still wish businesses would do their due diligence when it comes to these pets. The ADA states that service animals can be carried or worn in a sling by their handler, but they are not to be in the cart (edit: there are a very few exceptions to this when the dog needs to be near the handler’s face, but the handler’s disability prevents them from carrying/wearing the dog).
Folks, leave your pets at home. Service animals only are permitted inside businesses that sell or serve food, as a matter of health codes. In most states, passing off your pet as a service animal is punishable by steep fined and even jail time. Not only that, but it puts legitimate service animal teams in a bad position. Because so many take pets into businesses and portray them as service animals, and they often misbehave, businesses and the public alike can be very wary of service animals. Not only that, but it’s not uncommon for these pets to bark, growl, lunge, or even attack service animals. The former can lead to the service animal being temporarily distracted and missing a vital alert. This can land their handler in a world of hurt, even causing injury or hospitalization. In the case of an attack, service animals often have to be retrained or even retired due to the trauma of the attack.
Leave your pets at home! They don’t belong in grocery stores and restaurants and other non pet friendly businesses.
[image: a grey mini horse, standing beside a shopping cart in an aisle at Costco. She is wearing a black blanket, black halter and leash, black harness with rainbow trim, black vest, and black hoof boots. Her ears are pricked towards the camera and she has an alert expression on her face.]
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