This is starting to create a problem for restaurants as customers want to bring their dogs inside of restaurants and eat with them at the table. This creates a conflict for the owner of the establishment as only service dogs are allowed into restaurants.
So, what exactly is a service dog? According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) a service dog is defined as a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.
Examples of such work or tasks include guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under the ADA.
A restaurant owner is not allowed to ask the dogs owner what his disability is, but instead can ask, “What service does your dog provide?” The acceptable answer is one of those listed in the definition. There is no national tag or certificate that identifies a service dog, and asking to see such items is not allowed. If a person presents a doctor’s note stating that it is an emotional support or comfort dog, this does not qualify the dog as a service animal; as a matter of fact they are specifically excluded under the law. (Check with your local jurisdiction for more information about this).
A service dog must be under the owner’s control at all times and cannot walk around the establishment. There are only two reasons that you can remove a service dog from the establishment: 1) It is not housebroken 2) the owner is not controlling the service dog or is not attempting to control it. Dogs that are trained as service dogs are usually well controlled and should not cause a problem.
So, what do you as an owner do when someone has a dog in your establishment and it is identified as “an emotional support dog?” That is up to you. Most health departments will cite a violation if it is not a service dog as identified in the ADA. You may choose to explain this regulation to the customer, show them a copy of the law and hope that they understand. You can also explain the regulation and make a one-time exception or you can ask them to leave. It all depends on how you want to handle it. Unfortunately, in today’s world a dissatisfied customer could write one or more awful Yelp reviews or something along those lines.
There are many foods safety hazards that are associated with a dog in a restaurant. The most observed issue is staff petting and playing with the dog and then serving food without washing their hands or changing their gloves. Guests often hold the dog in their lap and the dog has their head on the table, or they let them walk on the table. In addition, guests will often try to feed their dogs from the restaurant’s plates and utensils. Just watching a server pet an emotional support dog and then bring someone their food without changing their gloves is enough to make me run out the door. If they are doing that, then what other health risks exist in the establishment?
Service animals are only allowed in public areas and not in the kitchen or preparation areas in the kitchen. When your cook comes to work with his emotional support fluffy white dog who is in his arms, do not let the dog into the kitchen. Even if your cook brings a service dog, the Americans with Disabilities act only provides for public areas.
Most local jurisdictions have rules for outdoor dining with pets so it is a good idea to check with your local regulatory authority regarding these.
Remember that only dogs (and in some cases miniature ponies) are service animals. When your customer comes in with their service parrot, snake, cat or pot-bellied pig, you do not have to seat them!
For more information and a copy of the regulations:
www.ada.gov/service_animals_2010.htm
Beth Torin, RD, MA
Chief Operating Officer
bettercallbeth.com
Beth Torin served as the Executive Director for the New York City Department of Health Office of Food Safety (NYCDOHMH) for 14 years.
