It does make a difference. It absolutely makes one. Even bonafide legitimate service animals have to abide by the standards of the establishment. Generally speaking, here they are:

"Four on the floor." No animals in carts, carriages, strollers.
6' or shorter non-retractable leash.
Must heel, and remain heeled or reclining but alert at the diner's side, and not blocking the aisles.
Must be quiet.
Owner must -not- allow anyone to pet the dog.

If the animal is not "on duty" then it doesn't belong in the building.

I had lunch at Ay Jalisco many months ago. A woman with an extra-long retractable leash had her little yipper special weshul woofie poochie with her, yipping and woofing around her ankles and through the short fence of the patio area. She wanted to come in and eat. The waitress came out and told her - service animals only. The woman said he's a service animal. The waitress said great - when she returns with her service animal on a shorter, non-retractable leash, and heels rather than jumps around the fence, and sits quietly by her side, then she and her dog will be welcome. Til then - "service animals only."

I gave the waitress an extra tip and thanked her for taking charge of the situation like a boss. Turns out it was a relative of the boss. Gotta love family businesses. They take the best care of their customers.

"The Truth"? More like "Your Opinion"...

We've been to several outside seating areas in TV Squares with our dog. We always ask the hostess first if it's okay. If they say no, fine. We go somewhere else. No big deal. We've had multiple servers bring over a dog bowl of water... She sits next to my wife, under the table, not bothering anyone.

No one in the immediate area has started sneezing, or has gone into anaphylactic shock. No one has given us a dirty look or sneered at us, nor said anything, other than "cute dog"...

We've also had multiple patrons stop at our table, with a big smile on their face, asking if it would be alright to pet her...

Those are the type of people we've made friends with...

The "truth" is, don't be a jerk with your dog and you'll be fine.

Everything I said was the truth.

I get it. You just like to disagree with everything I post... Wait, what?

Oh, and everything I posted was also the truth...

I like dogs, horses, cows, monkeys and elephants among others. They can be trained but are not trained as we are for eating in or existing in restaurants. Maybe some but not all. Never saw one wipe its butt after a Poo (Unless it is a dog with worms).

leave the dog at home

............................

because it is too damned hot in Florida to drag that poor animal everywhere YOU want to go!

leave it home the dog will be happier

Now that is using common sense and true compassion for your dog. Giving dogs a “voice.” Thanks.

Dogs Love staying at home sprawled out on the bed or couch thinking “Ahhh this is life, the whole house to my self”. Quit ruining their day by taking them everywhere

Leave the dog at home. It's still very hot here in October. The pavement can burn their pads. Think of what's best for the animal, NOT for YOU!

I love animals, especially dogs, I trust them more than I trust people. Many people treat their dogs as if they were their children and I believe this is not only good for the dog but also therapeutic for the owners. But I believe there is a problem if you can’t go to a restaurant and leave your dog home for a couple of hours. I never spent 24/7 with my daughter when she was growing up and I’m sure no parents do. I do understand there are people with special needs that have service dogs and I’m fine with that. About 6 months ago my wife and I were having lunch at Longhorn, we were sitting at a banket and a couple across the way were sitting with a large dog under their table. I was impressed how well behave the dog was, the only time he would raise his head was when someone passed by and every now and then he would look at us. When they were leaving, the couple smiled at us and left, and as far as I could tell neither had special needs. As I look back who I really felt sorry for is the dog. Here was this poor dog sitting in a strange place motionless under a table, strangers walking by while their owners were having a nice meal. Look I don’t care if you bring an elephant into a restaurant, but there should be a good reason behind it.

Now I like that response. Yeah we have a 17 lb dog who spends most of the day in the house. When we take her out with us sometimes we get a hankering for a meal. We are not going to leave our dog in a hot car while we eat. We go somewhere that has outdoor dining and she sits quietly under the table while we eat. So far we’ve had no problem with this. Probably because she is relatively small, quiet, well behaved and the establishment knows us as frequent customers. Now if we were talking about a Great Dane, pit bull, etc I might understand the concern but a small well behaved dog under a table outside……..? Come on!

"Service" dogs?
 

95 (or more?) percent of the dogs I've seen taken into restaurants and, yes, grocery stores, are NOT service dogs, and should not be allowed. If one can't leave little Fifi home for an hour or two, I think THEY might have a problem.

Ski Beach in leesburg welcomes pets in the tiki and lakeside seating!