So basically, anyone can bring any dog into a restaurant just by saying that it's a service dog and that it has been train to help with a disability. No proof is required. Kind of like when you get stopped by the police in your car and you say that you have a driver's license but you're not going to show it and you haven't been drinking and you're not going to take any test to prove that you are sober.

Gracie, I love animals and especially dogs. I don't have one now, but when I did it had to be a dog that doesn't shed because of allergies. It may not be cancer, but a shedding dog sitting next to me in a restaurant would make me very uncomfortable. I would have a runny nose and itchy burning eyes for a day or two afterward.

Actually you may purchase a service animal vest and papers on line. :undecided: If proof were required, who would be the authority to certify that it was indeed a service animal?

What a bummer...all the restaurants in TV are going to the dogs. I would love to hear of all the experiences you've all had with the dogs IN the restaurants. There are no experiences because it doesn't happen.

It is illegal to have pets in restaurants unless they are a service dog. Why does the argument continue to intrigue folks? If you dislike dogs, don't get one, don't go near one, and by all means stay away from the two restaurants that allow dogs on their patios (legally). Until then, why not leave the subject die until a legitimate complaint arises.

There are extensive laws regarding this. I'm sure that the restaurant managers know what they can and can't ask. I don't think it's a real issue because I'll bet this rarely happens.

I love dogs also but they do not like me. I am very allergic and I did own a dog that was hypoallergenic. Some responders say stay away from the places that let them in. Again if it was a service dog I would gladly change my seat. For other dogs, that do not belong, I would not change my seat. I get a runny nose and runny eyes from dogs but I also go into an allergic induced asthma attack and lose my breath. Would I be able to have the dog owner pay my ambulance and hospital bill if that happened. It is not I dislike for dogs, it is a true medical issue just as a service dog is for a disabled person. Please don't abuse the ADA laws. If you truly have a disability, you belong and I have to deal with that. If you do not have a disability, leave your dog home.

Then, in a restaurant that has the permit for dogs on the patio, you could choose to sit inside, just as you could to avoid cigarette smoke in a restaurant that permits smokers on the patio.

There are choices and restrictions for all sorts of things. Fit yourself into what works for you. No one person/group has the right to have everything their particular way.

It's ridiculous. These people think there pets are their friends and/or babies.

Hello....THEY ARE DOGS. They do not belong in restaurants!!

That is one opinion. Others disagree. Tell the 40-some states in the US, plus Puerto Rico and every country in the EU, that they don't belong in restaurants. They disagree with you.

Europe and Puerto Rico don't even mind cats in restaurants.

Have you ever been to the Caribbean? The outdoor parts of the restaurants there have birds eating out of the sugar bowl and drinking out of the cream pitcher; many others walk around on the floor while you're eating, waiting for you to drop something.

The Lorikeets in Australia perch on the chairs on the sidewalk cafes, even in downtown Sydney, waiting to rob you of your food.

You can either find it charming or boycott those restaurants.

I've avoided this conversation in the past, but felt the need to respond. Birds do eat in open restaurants in the Caribbean. They are not domesticated animals. Dogs have owners that make choices to take them to restaurants and allow them to poop in the neighbors yard!

My opinion is that this issue has not a lot to do with dogs. It is all about human choices and behavior, influenced in some cases, by arrogance on one side, intolerance on the other, and a sense of entitlement on both. I fall on the intolerance side of the issue due to a trauma earlier in life. As I stepped out of my hippy bus to take my first footstep in Paris, I took that step in dog poop. I was wearing bell bottoms.

You're ignoring the part about the 40+ states and territories who have restaurants that allow dogs.

It just boils down to a choice. It's allowed in many restaurants outdoors. If you don't like it, don't go there. Can't imagine why you would forgive the lack of hygiene of birds walking all over your table but object to a dog sitting on the floor in the restaurant, especially when the birds carry more possibility of transmitting germs than the dogs. You either like animals being in restos or you don't.

What people are you referring to? The folks that have a disability have as much right as you do to bring their dog into a restaurant. If you are referring to anyone else bringing a dog into a restaurant.....give me an example....it doesn't happen.

If you have a severe allergy to dogs, then why do you go around them? This is a dog friendly community. There are many area....stores, restaurants, clubs, activities where dogs are NOT allowed. Go to the places where you will not be subjected to a dog. If your allergy is as severe as you say, you should avoid ALL public places because there is always the chance of a service dog being around you. I was on a cruise recently and there was a beautiful German Shepard service dog on board. There are so many communities where dogs are totally prohibited in Florida, that would be a solution for someone with as severe of an allergy as you have.

I often wonder about those severely allergic people that sit next to me or very near me in a restaurant or movie theater or in line somewhere. I am sure I have dog hair and dog dander on my clothes and person. I have never had anyone suddenly sneeze or get sick from me that I know of. I guess I have just been very fortunate with regards to proximity, or should I say others have who suffer. I would never want to intentionally make anyone ill but I do share my home, car and life with my dogs.