A Dog's Life - April 17, 2026

I Know They Are Man’s Best Friend, But…

I don't mind dogs.  Many of my friends have dogs, or were dog-owners in the past. Some members of my extended family are dog-owners.  However, I’ll never be a dog-owner myself, as I am allergic to dog hair. I’ve been around dogs many times when visiting friends, and I’ve  enjoyed those visits, including interacting with their dogs.  So, it’s with this opening premise that I ask the question, when did it become OK for people to bring their dogs into stores, malls, coffee shops and restaurants?  

Before I dive into the discussion and share some stories, let’s understand the rules and regulations when it comes to dogs in public places. 

Service dogs are legally protected and must be allowed in virtually all public places under Ontario's Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) and the Ontario Human Rights Code. Similarly, in the United States, The ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) allows service dogs in public places. 

A service dog is not just a well-behaved or emotionally comforting dog. It must be trained to do specific work or tasks, with those tasks being directly related to the person's disability; and it is readily apparent the animal is being used for a disability-related need. (Source - Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act).   

Examples of qualifying tasks include:

• Guiding someone who is blind

• Alerting someone who is deaf

• Detecting an oncoming seizure

• Reminding someone to take medication

• Calming someone during a PTSD episode

  
  

In the United States, the ADA defines a service dog as: “individually trained to do work or perform tasks; for a person with a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability”. It’s generally the same definition as we have in Ontario, with one interesting difference; the US definition of a service dog includes “intellectual and mental disabilities” as well, which could allow for interpretation, or stretching that portion of the definition to include "emotional support”. This could become an area of potential abuse by dog-owners…”oh, I need my dog with me for emotional support, I have a disability”.  Eyes-rolling emoji. 

What does NOT qualify as a service dog:

• Emotional support animals (ESAs): they provide comfort by their presence but are not trained to perform specific tasks.

• Therapy dogs: trained to comfort many people (in hospitals, schools) but not individually assigned to a person with a disability.

• Pet dogs that are simply well-trained or well-behaved. 

In both the United States and in Canada, pet dogs have no legal right to enter public spaces; it's entirely up to the business owner’s discretion.  Many places allow it informally, especially dog-friendly cafés and patios, but it's not a legal right to bring your pet dog into an establishment.  

And, for food establishments specifically:

• In Ontario, health regulations generally prohibit animals in areas where food is prepared or served — so inside a restaurant or café is typically not allowed. Outdoor patios are a grey area and many allow dogs at the owner's discretion. 

• In the US, pet dogs are similarly left to the discretion of the business, but the FDA prohibits animals in food service areas, with exceptions for service animals. 

Now that we’ve established what’s permitted under the laws, and I've tipped my hand as to what my pet peeve is, let’s get into what’s triggered this writing.  I have examples of seeing people with dogs in places that struck me as odd.  I’ll start with the most recent occurrence that brought this topic to my front-of-mind.  

Last week, I was in Toronto walking through a mall when I heard a dog barking loudly.  That immediately struck me as odd as I don't expect to hear or see dogs in indoor public places. Fortunately the dog was held on a leash with the owner trailing behind.  Whenever I have seen dogs in public places, I'll admit that the dogs have been very quiet and well-behaved.  That doesn’t make it ok, but at least the owner has the dog well-trained.  This was the first time I had seen a dog in a public place that was disrupting the other patrons.  Not good.  This got me thinking of all the other times I’ve seen dogs in public places and the disaster that could have ensued if the dog became agitated and started barking, running around the public establishment, or worse if the dog had bit someone.  This situation has the potential to become a nightmare, which is why it used to be unacceptable to bring dogs into indoor public places. In this example nothing terrible occurred, the dog-owner was able to get their dog under control, and the episode passed without incident.  

This Mall incident in Toronto reminded me of another “dog in a mall” incident I witnessed, in Phoenix.  We were at the Fashion Square Mall, a large luxury mall with all the high-end designer stores, similar to the Yorkdale Mall in Toronto.  There we were in the Tesla retail store, not to buy a Tesla, but they had a Cybertruck there and having seen these vehicles on the road, we were curious what they were like on the inside.  We checked out the Cybertruck and were impressed by the interior design, features and functionality.  After sitting inside the vehicle were remained in the store, looking at the outside of the vehicle, when a woman went inside the Cybertruck,  with her dog.  The dog sat on the back seat with its owner.  We witnessed this, looked at each other and couldn’t believe this was actually happening. Within a few seconds a Tesla employee came over and told the women she couldn’t have her dog in the car.  The woman then got out of the Cybertruck and walked away with her dog, oblivious to her transgression.   My thought was, “how did she think it was ok to go into a car in a showroom with her dog!”. It's not ok, and I'm glad I had gone into the vehicle before the woman and her dog, because I may not have been inclined to enter the vehicle if I knew it was frequented by dogs.  In my opinion it’s not ok to bring your dog into a car showroom,  let alone allow the dog to sit in the car.  Would you do that at a BMW dealership?  I hope not!  

Locally, here in Ottawa, I walked past a Clocktower pub in my neighbourhood and saw  patrons sitting on their patio with a dog resting by their feet. This was not a service dog, but someone’s pet.  In this case the dog was quiet and still.  As we noted above, establishments can use their own discretion as to whether to permit pet dogs on their patios.  As I didn’t see the patrons enter the patio, I don’t know if they sought permission from the restaurant staff/manager, or if they simply assumed it was ok. I hope they sought permission, and if they had been granted permission by the staff, my impression of that establishment may have changed.  If I had already been seated on the patio and these people came and sat beside me with their dog, I would not be entirely comfortable. I’m not sure if I’d raise an objection immediately when they sat down beside me, but for sure if the dog caused any kind of disturbance I would have asked for them to be moved, or to be moved elsewhere myself.  I don’t believe dogs should be permitted anywhere food is being served and beverages are being consumed, for hygienic reasons.  Next time I’m sitting on a patio I'll ask the staff/manager a hypothetical question, if they permit pets on their patio.  

Also in my neighbourhood is a local gym. It’s a well-known brand of fitness centres.  At this gym, a few years ago, there was a woman who regularly worked out. One day she started coming into the gym with a dog.  The dog was quiet and would rest on the floor near her, and it followed her from machine to machine. The dog wasn’t bothering anyone, but it was an odd site.  I’ve been working out at gyms for years and had never seen a dog in a gym.  My thoughts were that dogs should not be in a fitness centre unless they are legitimately a service dog. I had my doubts about this dog, as this woman did not appear to be disabled in any way.  I asked the manager about it and sure enough the woman had indicated to the gym staff that she was training that dog to be a service dog, and that taking the dog to public places was part of its training.  This was a plausible answer, but I remained skeptical.   

Ironically, more recently there is a blind man who frequents that gym and he comes in with a service dog.  I’m not bothered by this because the gentleman in question is clearly visually-impaired, and legitimately needs a service dog. And, this dog is well-trained, remains in one spot near the entrance and is quiet the entire time his owner is working out at the gym. The dog itself was wearing a service vest, identifying it as such.  The dog owner usually engages in a lengthy workout and the service dog remains quiet and well-behaved the entire time.  This scenario is something I’m ok with as this situation seems legitimate in all regards. 

This discussion reminds me of a dog incident we experienced while in Europe.  We were having lunch in a nice restaurant in Rome, when two ladies entered the restaurant, with one of the ladies carrying a furry dog. The dog was her pet, and clearly not a service dog.  They didn’t ask the staff for permission; they simply walked in with their dog as if it were commonplace.  Our friends, who spend a fair amount of time in Rome, and in Europe in general, indicated that dogs in public indoor places is quite common throughout Europe. Dogs are seen more as family members integrated into daily life, with pets not being left at home. Accordingly, European food safety rules tend to be applied more flexibly when it comes to animals in dining spaces. It seems that North American health codes are stricter and more uniformly enforced regarding animals in food establishments. There's a stronger cultural tendency to separate pets from public commercial spaces. Also, liability concerns also play a bigger role in North America.  

This discussion reminds me of a dog incident I experienced a few years ago that I had forgotten about until writing this article.  I encountered a dog in a public place, but not indoors, so it’s not exactly like my other stories shared above.  I was going for a run on a public groomed trail.  Ahead of me was a couple out for a walk with their dog.  The dog was off its leash. As I ran by them the dog got excited and chased after me. As the dog caught up to me, it jumped at my legs and bit me on my calf, cutting me and drawing blood.  The couple was not  paying attention to their dog, or what had just happened.  I looked down and saw the blood, but I decided it was more important to finish my run and secure a good run time, than to deal with these people and their loose dog…I kept running…fortunately, other than some minor pain from the dog bite, and some blood to clean up, I was otherwise ok.  In hindsight, perhaps I should have said something, but clearly it turned out to be a non-event, as I had forgotten about the incident until this writing. I mention this story here in this article only because it is another example of people taking liberties with their dogs, and that’s not ok.  That dog should have been on its leash, under the control of the dog-owners.  I didn’t make an issue of the dog-bite but someone else may have.  Either way, it was selfish of the dog-owners to allow their dog to run free and potentially harm others…what if the dog had bitten a child?  

I am fully supportive of dog-owners and the enjoyment they get from their pets.  I can imagine the companionship and love they gain from having their dogs with them. I enjoy playing with other people’s dogs.   My experiences with dogs in public places, indoor or outside, have not been problematic for me.  But when dogs enter indoor public spaces it could pose an issue for some people, and we are trusting you that your dog will not disrupt our indoor experience.  Do people really need to bring their pets with them to the mall or a restaurant? Really?