Dog poop on this KC grocery store floor shows the problem with taking pets shopping | Opinion

Cleanup on Aisle 3.

In a video making its rounds on social media this week, an Instagrammer captures what looks like dog feces on the floor of a grocery store in Independence. Yuck. The ghastly sight was captured on video by Walter Edwin of Kansas City. In another clip, a small dog — the offending party, according to Edwin — is seen sitting in a shopper’s cart.

“The dog (relieved itself) through the basket and onto the floor,” Edwin wrote in his post. “It happened right outside the deli.” Gross.

It’s not limited to grocers, of course. Customers shopping with Airedales and poodles at their side for everything from extension cords to tennis shoes has become an everyday sight.

We spoke with officials from the grocery store’s parent company about its animal policy. And there’s little question the retailer, like all others, is in something of a tough spot. Service animals are allowed in its stores, reps for the grocer told us. Under the Americans with Disabilities Act, service animals must be permitted inside public spaces.

But there’s a difference between service animals and the increasingly common “emotional support animals,” or ESAs. The small dog seen in the video clip wasn’t a guide dog, nor was it assisting with a wheelchair, as allowed under federal law. A service animal’s training must be directly related to the owner’s disability. Emotional support and therapy dogs are not protected by the ADA.

The amorphous world of emotional support animals is an increasing headache for businesses of all kinds these days. As a November report from the Pew Charitable Trusts points out, managers of retail stores, rental properties and other establishments have struggled in recent years to accommodate customers who want animals at their side. “In practice,” Pew reports, “gatekeepers are usually reluctant to challenge people with support animals.” The report notes a number of websites have sprung up in recent years offering easy, remote certification of family pets as ESAs.

But dog droppings, especially in a grocery store, are unsanitary and put the public at risk.

Store personnel cannot ask for certification or any other kind of proof that an animal is trained for service, the grocery chain said in a statement. Under law, employees are allowed to ask if the service animal is required because of a disability, and what work or task has the dog been trained to perform. That’s it.

The statement also added that the company “welcomes service animals in our stores and welcomes anyone with disabilities who needs a service animal to assist them. If a customer has a concern about a specific animal, we encourage them to speak with the store director, who can handle such situations on a case-by-case basis — as occurred with this particular incident.”

A spokesperson for the grocer said it has no policy against animals sitting in shopping carts. Every retailer should institute one — immediately. What’s to keep an untrained and unlicensed service animal from entering the premises with its owner? Not a single thing. They don’t belong in carts at the bare minimum.

If store workers are afraid of breaking federal law, looking the other way isn’t the answer. Retailers must provide their employees with more training. It can be difficult to determine if an animal is really a service animal as opposed to a pet, according to the ADA National Network, which provides information, guidance and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Service animals are highly trained with specific skills, according to the ADA National Network. Under the ADA, training is what distinguishes a service animal from other animals.

In the short video clips from Edwin that we viewed — and this is not to embarrass the pet’s owner — we looked long and hard for any indication that the dog was a service animal. We came up empty. What we saw appeared to be a personal pet roaming casually and freely inside a shopping cart after it had relieved itself inside the building.

Accidents happen. And service animals and pets aren’t immune. But for animal lovers everywhere, for the love of humanity, please remember to clean up after your pets, especially one that relieves itself in the aisle of a store. If you’re going to take your pet out to a public place, bring plastic bags with you. Your neighbors will thank you.

Retail employees wipe down shopping carts throughout the day. In addition, shopping carts are power washed on a regular basis, reps for the grocery chain in the video said. But allowing an animal to ride in a shopping cart is grotesque.

All grocery stores operate under strict food safety guidelines. Allowing personal pets inside a store would more than likely constitute a health code violation, dog training experts we spoke with said.

Dogs, except for trained service animals, have no business helping with anyone’s grocery shopping.

This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 3:02 PM.