Comments about ‘Proposed legislation would keep comfort animals out of stores’

I totally agree, restrict untrained anamials. Several times I've had dogs come up and lick me and I pull away and say in a loud voice to Go Away. Sometimes the dog persists and the owner does nothing so I have used my foot to throw the dog several feet away, which offended the owner.

At which time the dog owner then becomes involved, and I have been threatened.

I have a right not to be licked, it bothers me very much, but dog owners seem to think I don't have a right to enforce this.

Since enough dog owners will not self regulate, they need the long arm of the law to regulate their behavior.

Other than dogs trained for service for the blind should be the only animals alowed in stores where food is sold or eaten. They are specially trained and a necessecity for the animal owners, other animals are purely and emotional attachment and they can leave their emotions and animals outside. Why would anyone in their right mind want to take their dog and other pets shopping anyway? Are pet owners getting out of hand thinking everyone loves their pets and want to see them and their drippings all over the florrs and ground? Pets do not belong in stores in confined public shopping areas. There will always be the threat of attack to others and destruction of retailers goods. There is always someone that has to push the limit and the intent of the laws.

Shouldn't we leave question up to the discretion of the business owner? Rather than waste legislators valuable time on one more law?

What a waste of time. Here we have the economy tanking and the legislators are blabbing about service animals in stores. Really? C'mon.

Untrained, un-restrained animals hardly fit the category of service or companion or comfort animals. No proper service animal is licking anyone, jumping on anyone or bothering anyone else! If someone's pet is doing this, then that person has just brought their pet to the store and allowed them to be as unruley as many people's children.

Suppose that someone suffers from Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and panics in public. Suppose this person has a small companion dog that is quiet and unobtrusive, and stays in his/her carrier held up off the floor by the person. Suppose that this little dog gives enough emotional support to this individual that they are able to function in public, go to the store, pay their bills, and so on.

How does that affect you? It doesn't. We are not talking about my bringing my pets, whom I love dearly, to Walmart with me--that is rediculous. Even though they bring me great comfort.

We are talking about an animal who helps a person with an emotional disability as much as a seeing-eye-dog helps a blind person.

--mak

I've got allergies to dogs and cats - bad. Truly well trained service animals are fine because they never even approach me. Comfort animals and general pets in public...well they touch me and I have serious health problems. SO - keep the untrained animals out of stores, restaurants, etc. please!

What? is correct. The legislature has no business messing around in this area.

Task-trained service animals for all types of disabilities belong everywhere in public so that their humans have the ability to use that public place like everybody else can.

Animals that are for comfort, emotional support, therapeutic benefits, etc. - whatever phrase you want to use - are not trained to help their owners, are not service dogs, and do not belong in public. They are pets, not task-trained, and are not needed for a person to have the ability to patron a business (the reason for service animals to be in places). If a person is so bad off that they need a security "blanket", they need to get professional help, as their "blanket" is detrimental to their health.

Riggles' "check" by mental health professionals is ridiculous - many doctors will write whatever letter their patient wants and doctors are not dog trainers, so are in no position to say whether or not a particular dog is well-trained enough to be in public places like service animals are. These ill-trained pets harm both humans and real service animals.

It is not discrimination to disallow pets, who may be ill-trained, in public. Emotional Support Animals belong staying home.

Republicans are for a government that doesn't get involved in private businesses. This is a mandate to private businesses. Let them decide!!

There is a time and place for pets and grocery shops etc are not the time or place. People need to get over their insecurities and quite living through the 4 legged creatures.

"Shouldn't we leave this up to the individual business owner"?

No, we don't do that with indoor smoking and pets like smoking are a nuisance. They detract from the quality of life for others. They may bite peeople, they may go up and lick people who don't appreciate it. They shed hair, they may wet on the floor causing someone to slip and fall.

No, just as with smoking indoors, this should also be a law.

If some stores allow pets and others don't, that detracts from my quality of life. There may be a store near my house I no longer enjoy going to.

Go get your dog certified and trained, then get a doctors statement saying you need your dog with you all the time.

Otherwise keep your dog out of the store!!!

As someone who has numerous neurological disorders including seizures, severe depression with suicidal tendencies, post traumatic stress disorder, and panic attacks, to name a few, I would not be able to function without my emotional support dog. I do not take him inside stores with me or to eat...I eat with him in the car. When going to a store for a quick trip, weather permitting, he waits for me in the car. Without him life alone would be terrible. I have had hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on therapies and Rx...this little dog saves thousands in medical costs...to say that he is not as important as any other service dog, is saying mental illness does not exist. My apartment is immaculate, he seldom barks unless there is noise and/or commotion outside...he is my lifeline. To take away the small advantages as a service dog would be devastating. He keeps me alive without tons of meds or costs to my health insurance which benefits everyone not just me. I hope the legislature will reconsideer their stand on this issue...children can be more of a problem than an emotional support dog in a store.

As another thought why not have the ESD complete obedience training with a certificate to show if the dog needs to go with the person inside. I for one do not like obnoxious dogs coming up to me or my support dog either. Nor do I want the public fawning over him as he is a sensitive dog that alerts me. If someone requiring an ESD to go in a store,they would have an obedience certificate proving training. Also, a letter from a doctor doesn't get it. In addition there must be a record of documented illness/disability to prove a disability exists. HUD guidelines are very specific regarding this eliminates "pets" from being allowed by anyone as an emotional support dog. If the disability isn't substaniated, that is the apartment/dorm's responsibility to verify proof of disability.