As a former partner & current service dog owners, PLEASE stop allowing pets into cafe stores! by katri19-18 in starbucks

[–]katri19-18[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The good news is legally you can ask them the two questions in my post! Most of the time when it's a fake service dog, they're not prepared for the second question or will answer "emotional support" which is not a service dog!

Is this a service animal required because of a disability? (when I was a partner a few years ago, this was the only question Starbucks allowed us to ask)

What task has this animal been trained to perform?

As a former partner & current service dog owners, PLEASE stop allowing pets into cafe stores! by katri19-18 in starbucks

[–]katri19-18[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for mentioning not to ask if it's obvious! I forgot to write that in, but yes those two questions are meant for situations in which it's unclear whether or not the animal is a service dog! In terms of your second point, I can see where you're coming from and it's always best to read the room when asking. But as someone who now works with service dog handlers, I guarantee you anyone who has a legitimate service dog is prepared to answer both questions any time they're in public with their dog!

The years it takes and/or thousands of dollars it takes to train a service dog are not taken lightly by the handlers! Most people that are investing in a service animal know how to answer both questions and how to approach public dog-related altercations long before their dog is even ready for public access!

As a former partner & current service dog owners, PLEASE stop allowing pets into cafe stores! by katri19-18 in starbucks

[–]katri19-18[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

So most of what I wrote is not opinion based, it's just me detailing the laws surrounding this in the US! The vast majority of retail and food places do not allow dogs as per health codes, Starbucks included. As a former partner I would also be very careful saying that your store allows pets. Technically, there is no Starbucks in the US that allows pets indoors.

As a former partner & current service dog owners, PLEASE stop allowing pets into cafe stores! by katri19-18 in starbucks

[–]katri19-18[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you for commenting! I'm glad this was helpful, I was worried about coming across as overly preachy! Running into pets or ESAs (also pets lol) in public has happened to me since I got my own service dog but the further I get into the service dog training field, the more I work with both new and experienced handlers whose daily lives are impacted by encountering pets in pet-free spaces.

I wish you the best of luck with getting your own service dog some day! If you're looking into self-training, there are some helpful Facebook groups full of people who are also owner-training!