As both a Chicago restaurant owner and a dog owner for over 40 years, I must respectfully poo-poo the Tribune Editorial Board’s idea that allowing dogs in our restaurants is both a good one and a potential lifesaver for our struggling businesses (“Woof! Restaurants should be able to let the dogs in (within reason),” Sept. 29). My experience as a dog owner over those years tells me that while owners unquestionably love their pets, most of them have gotten little or no training at all on how to handle their dogs in public. And their dogs haven’t gotten training either. Exhibit A: uncollected dog waste all over our sidewalks. Exhibit B: owners allowing their dogs to wander all over the sidewalks, causing tripping hazards with leashes extended 10 or more feet. Pretty thoughtless.
Do we really think that the scene with dogs in restaurants would be much better? Imagine a restaurant with eight or 10 dogs in it. Do we deny entry to the owner with two huge Bernese mountain dogs? How do you get a dog on a leash through a revolving door? What about people who are allergic to pet hair? Do you really think that every dog will sit calmly at its master’s feet under the table? And what about those leashes? A trip hazard if ever there was one! What happens when the last table available makes us seat an owner with a feisty Cairn terrier next to a pit bull? Cleanup at Table 41!
— Dan Rosenthal, president, Sopraffina Marketcaffe
Sanitary reasons alone
Are you out of your mind? Allow dogs in restaurants? People can’t or won’t control their children in restaurants, and the Tribune Editorial Board thinks they will respect other diners by controlling their dogs?
I do not want to eat in a place that allows animals inside for sanitary reasons alone, let alone risk picking up fleas!
— Janice A. Hiley, Rolling Prairie, Indiana
No dogs in restaurants
I love dogs. I have a well-trained one. But not in a restaurant! Do I now need to ask for the “no canine section” when I’m eating?
— Deborah Ellis, Aurora
More pressing issues
I couldn’t have said it any better than Laura Washington (“Dogs belong outside, not under my feet at a restaurant”) on Oct. 1. The arrogance of dog owners in the New Eastside neighborhood is at times hard to believe; when they are approached by security, every dog is a service dog. They are in my building’s passenger elevators, Maggie Daley Park, Mariano’s and CVS, where they supposedly are not allowed.
Recently, a couple were taking wedding photos in the park, and an unleashed dog jumped on the groom. Last week, a huge dog jumped on me as I walked on Randolph Street. The owner stopped and said, over and over again, “It’s OK.” OK for whom? They pee and poop in the beautiful landscaping while owners ignore the signs.
A restaurant seems to be one of the last places left where one can escape the dogs, and now even that is being threatened by this attitude of entitlement.
I would like to think that our City Council has more pressing issues to consider.
— Patricia Biron, Chicago
Advice for columnist
Laura Washington should get a dog. It would greatly improve her attitude.
— Ann Steinberg, Skokie
Leave pets at home
I totally agree with Laura Washington’s column. I am a dog lover, although I don’t own one due to the fact that I live in an apartment building that has a “no dogs” policy that limits dogs to “service/emotional” only. Plus I wouldn’t want to wait for an elevator to take an animal out several times a day.
We are already seeing dog owners disregarding grocery store signs that state “service dogs” only. Leave your pets at home when you go to the grocery store or out to eat.
— Barbara Dallia, Chicago
Concern for servers
This is in response to the letter from Fran Connelly about dogs in restaurants (“A benefit — for some,” Sept. 27). In addition to her concerns, I would like to add a concern about the hazard to waitstaff. I am a lifelong dog owner and am familiar with how easy it is to step on a tail or paw accidentally. In a crowded restaurant with dim lighting, it is easy for a server carrying heavy dishes to do that. The result could be spilled hot food on customers or the server. How unfortunate for all concerned, including the dog.
— Georgia Janewicz, Morton Grove
Such a ‘me’ society
I totally agree with Fran Connelly regarding dogs in restaurants! As well as dogs in grocery stores, especially when they are put in a shopping cart. For goodness’ sake, people, that’s a health issue.
Dogs cannot tell time and do not count the minutes to your return home. I have had five dogs in my lifetime and would never be that inconsiderate of other people. Some people are allergic to animal dander as well.
It is such a “me” society. It frustrates me to no end!
— Ann DeFronzo, Woodridge
Public’s well-being
As bad ideas go, allowing dogs inside restaurants is right up there. A long list of reasons supports my point of view as a consumer. As a physician, I have one reason that stands out from all the others. It is sufficient unto itself to not allow dogs, except service dogs, inside restaurants. That one reason is the health of the public.
The position of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, as stated in the FDA Food Code, is that no dogs, other than service dogs, be allowed inside restaurants. The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago have followed the lead of the federal government. Has there been any recent change in the medical or public health landscape that would justify a change in policy? The answer is “no.” What is driving the proposed policy change is the economic status of restaurant owners.
The Chicago City Council will have a decision to make. Which merits an alderman’s support, the financial well-being of a select few or the medical well-being of the entire community? Sound judgment makes the choice obvious.
— Gerald Weisberg, Chicago
Driving on shoulder
Kudos to Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart for the recent crackdown on reckless shoulder driving on the Eisenhower Expressway. Shoulder driving on the Ike is one of the most dangerous traffic conditions in the Chicago area.
Whenever traffic is slow, impatient drivers speed recklessly. Maybe Dart’s aggressive enforcement will put a stop to this practice.
— Kevin Forde, Chicago
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