I Can't Believe They Said No :(

[Christinee]

Oh wow. Around my area they will chase you out of a grocery store, but so far home depot allows it. I can put him in the seat of the cart and no one says anything. Not sure about Lowe's though. Home Depot is a couple blocks away and Lowes is a couple miles... So I just go to the closer one of coarse.

[peachesmom1sc]

Originally Posted by TraciG

I didn't even realize some retail stores other than pet stores were pet friendly. How do you know - is there a list? Do you call ahead? Just try it and see what happens? I guess I figured if I could take my 7lb dog inside, they would have to let someone take a 90lb dog inside as well to be fair.

if my baby wants to go with us i call where ever we are going Lowes & home depot and ask. if we have her with her i ask at the door then if they say yes i call hubby and he brings her in the only place we have been asked to leave is best buy and they used to let dogs in but with petsmart a few doors down they put a stop because of all the big dogs coming in

[My lil friend]

Today Mina and I went to PetCo,PetSmart (obviously pet friendly),next was JoAnns and then Lowes. At PetCo a mom with two toddlers asked if her children could pet Mina. I politely declined,explaining "that she loves for people to talk to her but really doesnt enjoy being touched by non family members". I am pretty sure that she wouldnt bite anyone,but stuff happens and she would get the blame for someone elses stupidity so I have decided that I can very politely ask people to not touch.
At Lowe's we passed no less than 10 employees,most didnt say anything other than " are you finding everything that you need?". Im sure that the no pet rule is from store to store. I have been taking my dogs (first Bunkey and then Mina) into JoAnns for approx 10yrs. If they ask me politely to not return with her,I think that I would be ok with it. The only encounter that I have ever had that has upset me was a BlockBuster store manager yelling at me from across the store. After speaking with the district manager the problem there was solved as well.

[nanahas3]

To make this clearer I didn't get angry at the manager I just was a little sad that I can no longer take my babies there. I have been taking them since Laddy was tiny. Yes it is their store but I couldnt and wouldnt leave my babies in a car while I shopped there so we drove the extra miles to Home Depot. Lol we even take them to places like Best Buy and our local mall allows pets to

[Charlie_Boy2011]

Originally Posted by MidnightUnicorn

Incidentally, I do have a letter from my doctor designating her as my comfort animal. This gives her access to all stores.

I've only been asked once about Tatiana. It was in Target. It's funny. The security guard asked if she was a service animal. I said yes, and offered to show her my doctor's letter (I keep a copy in the pocket of the pet carrier). The security guard said it was unnecessary for her to look at the letter. She took my word for it.

Do you keep her on leash or in a purse/carrier? Where was she when the guard confronted you in Target?

I also have a letter from my doctor allowing me a pet in my apartment w/ pet deposit fees waived. But a letter from a doctor regarding comfort/emotional support is entirely different than her being a service dog. I believe there is a lot to getting a dog registered/trained as a service dog. Does anyone personally know? I ask because I actually have a spinal cord injury and use a wheelchair so could reasonably go through the process. Though actual service dogs go through a lot of training and are really work animals. I would probably just do it to be able to take him more places and maybe learn a few things like picking stuff off the floor.

I'm confused about the difference between certifications etc. I have a friend that I believe only has the dog trained as a therapy dog to take into nursing homes, schools, etc. But the dog does have a working vest and I know she takes her into other public facilities.

[ashley_]

I just posted something about taking Somi to all kinds of stores and then saw this post. That is sad that you were told to leave. And I understand the whole if you can take a dog you should be able to take any dog thought, but I don't really like it. I hope I don't get told to leave with Somi, but I never take her in somewhere that I HAVE to buy something in case I am asked to leave. But she is 3.5lb and stays in her bag quiet.
The worst part about taking her is people wanting to touch her. I allow it sometimes, but I keep meaning to put hand sanitizer in my bag for them to use before touching her. If they aren't willing to use a little sanitizer then they shouldn't get to pet her.
Though it is great when there are kids through fits in the store and the mom says oh look its a puppy and it cheers them up. OR when a kid keeps telling their mom "look a puppy" and the mom won't believe them. I pretty much just ignore people unless they come right up to me because I don't want to draw attention, but sometimes I feel bad for the kids whose parents think they are lying. :/

I hope they don't start enforcing no dogs too much... it will make me even more of a hermit.

[My lil friend]

Originally Posted by nanahas3

To make this clearer I didn't get angry at the manager I just was a little sad that I can no longer take my babies there. I have been taking them since Laddy was tiny. Yes it is their store but I couldnt and wouldnt leave my babies in a car while I shopped there so we drove the extra miles to Home Depot. Lol we even take them to places like Best Buy and our local mall allows pets to

You never sounded like you were angry in your original post. I do so understand that it made you sad,especially sense you have been taking them there for so long. I do hope that the employee was polite. You might try calling the district manager and checking if it is store wide or company wide. When the store manager was so rude to me at BlkBuster,I did talk with the district manager and she called corporate for me. She checked with their rules and spoke with the store manager to make sure that she understood the company's policy on pets in the store and about her treatment of a customer.

[DBlain]

in MI it is pretty much understood, if food is served or sold no pets allowed. Most places sell food even the hardware stores. I also would venture to say that just about every chain store with the exception of pet stores have a no pet policy, because it makes sense. Most of us on here have little dogs and I enjoy sneaking Lola in but I would hate it if there were lots of big dogs walking around everywhere I shop, so it is easier to say no pets at all. To bad they did not just say no pets on the floor.

That being said I have taken Lola in tons of places and tend to hide her or just take a chance. I would only chance it if I knew it was not too hot or cold to leave her in the car while I did a quick in and out. I have taken her into the grocery store and Costco many times. I bring boxes to pack my groceries in along with some canvas grocery bags, I put a box in the childs seat and a bag inside of that, Lola goes in the bag and I drape a few other bags around her. I have even put her in the bottom of the Kohls shopping cart on a throw that I "borrowed" from their bedding department. If carts are not available then she gets carried in an oversized purse, I now have a custom over the shoulder sling type purse ordered to make it easier. The Lowes around here has always been dog friendly so I will be curious to see what happens the next time I go, Home Depot on the other hand are like the gestapo when it comes to dogs, another place that was nasty about carrying the dog in was the post office.

Lola is about 5.5lbs and I think about the max size I would want to try to sneak anywhere, I am lucky she never barks but she does like to pop out and see what is going on so pushing her back down when we need to go undercover can be stressful. I have two albums on here that show us out and about shopping at places like Pottery Barn, Ulta's, Chico's, the Dollar store etc, feel free to take a look

[MidnightUnicorn]

Originally Posted by Charlie_Boy2011

Do you keep her on leash or in a purse/carrier? Where was she when the guard confronted you in Target?

I also have a letter from my doctor allowing me a pet in my apartment w/ pet deposit fees waived. But a letter from a doctor regarding comfort/emotional support is entirely different than her being a service dog. I believe there is a lot to getting a dog registered/trained as a service dog. Does anyone personally know?

When we were in Target, Tatiana was in a purse/carrier. Whenever we go into stores, she is ALWAYS in a purse/carrier. This is for her protection, respect for the store and other customers, and for me to monitor her (especially when strangers and children come up to pet her. Tatiana is harmless to others. I'm more concerned about the people with her! )

Yes, I think you're right about the difference between a comfort/emotional support animal and a service animal.

However, the way my doctor phrased his letter, he indicates Tatiana is for a mental health condition as opposed to a physical health condition. Physically, I'm fine (for example, my eyes are fine. I'm not blind. Tatiana is not a seeing-eye dog). Tatiana is to aid with a mental health condition, not a physical one.

So far, the one time my doctor's letter was read (it was for access to a convention), the person thought Tatiana qualified as my service animal (for my mental health reasons). Again, Tatiana was kept in a purse/pet carrier when were in the building. I did give her walking breaks and potty breaks by taking her outside from time to time during the convention.

[MidnightUnicorn]

Oh. I looked over my doctor's letter. In his wording, he refers to Tatiana as a "service/emotional support animal." I guess in his mind, he thinks a service animal and emotional support animal are the same. However, personally, and technically, I think they're different. Oh well.

[Charlie_Boy2011]

Hmmm, thanx! I'll have to get my doctor to write a more descriptive letter for now. Actually looking into training him to be a service dog now. He has learned basic commands quick so I think I could do it.

[MidnightUnicorn]

Originally Posted by Charlie_Boy2011

Hmmm, thanx! I'll have to get my doctor to write a more descriptive letter for now. Actually looking into training him to be a service dog now. He has learned basic commands quick so I think I could do it.

Great. Good luck with everything.

[deonk1]

Originally Posted by chachi

If I had a store I wouldnt allow dogs either. That wouldnt keep me from shopping at a store that i liked to shop at. What if there is a customer in there that has allergies to dogs. Why should they e forced around a dog when they are a paying customer same as the customer with the dog.

This is a good point, however I'm allergic/asthmatic/sensitive to cigarette smoke and in my area at least despite laws I see no one enforcing the no smoking around store entrances policy, so as a paying customer I must still manuver around them. For that matter perfumes also bother a lot of people now a days. There are so many allergies it's hard to justify eliminating one and not others now a days.

I agree with the need to be fair and the safety issues mentioned on here as well. It just sucks when responsible dog owners get stuck dealing with mistakes of irresponsible ones.