Dog owners, others at odds over best way to handle pets
Come on, people! Can't you pick up after your dogs in public? Gee whiz. You give all dog owners a bad name. People who show dogs are required to pick up after their dogs at shows and at the hotels where they stay or else they face a bench committee hearing where they can be fined or suspended from showing. Get with it, people. Pick up after your dogs. There is no justification for not doing so.
From the Chicago Tribune.
Petiquette problems
Dog owners, others at odds over best way to handle pets
By Tracy Swartz
RedEye
Published April 11 2008
Kendell Renee Kelly said she walks daily with her best friend Nala around their Bronzeville neighborhood. Some days they eat at outdoor cafes together. On other days they enjoy the park.
But Kelly doesn't appreciate when other restaurant patrons stare at Nala when she eats or approach Nala when she's resting in the sun. Kelly considers Nala, her 6-pound Yorkie, her daughter and her princess.
"It's really unfortunate that [dogs] don't get the same kind of rights, the same kind of love that you would have for kids," said Kelly, 28.
Sara Ortiz of the Near North Side is one of those Chicagoans who don't believe dogs and people share the same rights. A "self-professed dog disliker," Ortiz's pet peeves include pooches that decorate the grass outside her apartment with poo and pups that run free.
"I definitely have been approached and licked by various strange dogs," said Ortiz, 25. "I think it does get a little more stressful when you have to watch your steps more … in the spring and summer."
The arrival of warm weather means the city's sidewalks, parks and beaches become popular places for pups and poop—and breeding grounds for the dogfight between man and man's best friend. Some Chicagoans say pooch owners should try to keep their pets' wandering and barking under control. But some dog owners say their pups have rights too—and that people without dogs should just deal with it.
Though there are city laws on pooch poop and restraint, non-dog owners say there are certain petiquette rules for cafes and pathways that city dog owners should follow. At the top of the list: how dogs should eat at restaurants and how they should mingle with sidewalk traffic.
Under a city ordinance that took effect Jan. 1, many of the city's restaurants with outdoor areas can allow dogs—something all Chicagoans will see more of now that spring has arrived. Many restaurants previously allowed dogs in their outdoor areas until the city Health Department starting cracking down on this practice in recent years.
As of early April, 16 restaurants had applied for a license to allow dogs, according to the city Department of Business Affairs and Licensing. To be able to offer this service, restaurants must have dining areas that are accessible from the street, such as a sidewalk cafe or outdoor patio. There were 824 Chicago sidewalk cafe permits last year.
But patrons of these restaurants shouldn't expect to see dogs eating off human plates. Dogs may be provided only water under city law.
Bistrot Margot in Old Town, for example, provides dogs water and disposable to-go containers for pet food but doesn't allow dogs to eat off plates, said General Manager Leah Allen.
"I'm not going to stop somebody if they give their dog a piece of bread from the table, but I'm not going to allow them to order a hamburger [for their dog],"Allen said.
Kelly agrees that dogs should follow restaurant rules. But dogs, like children, can get sick at restaurants, and dog owners shouldn't be blamed. "They're not doing anything beyond what's natural," she said.
Kelly also takes issue with how some people approach Nala in the park, trying to play with her or feed her without asking. Kelly also believes joggers should be mindful of small dogs when they're running and signal if they're going to cross over into a different part of the street or sidewalk.
But Rich Newell said it's an owner's responsibility to keep a dog in check because a jogger easily can trip over a dog that's wandered away from its owner. He said he also gets annoyed when he has to sidestep dog droppings while walking.
"I don't blame the dog," said Newell, 43, of Lincoln Square. "If the dog's behaving badly it's because the owner hasn't trained it well enough and if it's making a mess, basically it's the owner's responsibility to clean it up."
