A doggone controversy

I was in the produce section at Safeway on 19th tonight when something poked me in the leg. I turned around and a mid-size Shepherd mutt on a leash was there. She hopped up on her hind legs, and proceeded to jump up on me. I gasped, and the owner pulled the dog back.

Stock photo; not my Safeway

My conversation with the owner went like this:
  "I thought dogs weren't allowed in grocery stores!"
  "She's a service dog."
  "Service dogs don't jump up on people."
  "She's in training."
  "Then she should have a jacket on." (BTW the dog had a choke collar on, the kind with pointed metal that jabs the neck when the leash is pulled.)

Right next to me was an employee stocking bananas, ignoring the whole thing. I asked him whether dogs are allowed in Safeway. He was non committal and offered to call the manager for me, but since I was ready to check out, I told him that would not be necessary. I did tell him that I didn't think it was fair for one of Safeway's customers to have to be the bad guy and comment about the dog, when the dog and his owner had probably walked past three or four employees.

As I walked through produce to check out, I saw two more people carrying small dogs in their coats. "No doubt more service dogs," I thought.

I should state that I wasn't scared of the dog(s) I encountered, and I did not feel endangered, but I am really annoyed for health reasons, as well as potentially for safety concerns, that this practice is allowed. Dogs aren't allowed at the Farmer's Market, and are not allowed inside many other food-sale establishments, so why does Safeway permit it?

When I got to the manager, his response was, "I agree with you, ma'am, but you'd be surprised how many lawsuits are filed by people who want to bring their service dogs into the store." I wondered why he wouldn't worry about lawsuits filed by people who are bitten by dogs, or allergic to dogs, or phobic about dogs.

There's also the whole scam around certifying "service animals," or the questionable practice of using emotional support animals, which, really, is another rant; but clearly the dog I encountered was not a service dog.

I don't own a dog, so maybe some of you will use that as an immediate write-off of my position. Where does the service-animal-requiring person's rights trump the rights of everyone else? If an individual needs a dog to quell anxiety about grocery shopping, why can't the next person say they feel anxious shopping with dogs present?

I found some other blogs that provide additional details to the legal ramifications of service dogs, emotional support animals, and why retail establishments can only ask two questions of a person with a dog in a store.

http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/nevius/article/Safeway-tries-to-enforce-service-animal-rule-3334176.php

http://thesunbreak.com/2012/02/22/no-more-dogs-in-grocery-stores/

http://phillips.blogs.com/goc/2008/03/dogs-at-safeway.html