People Want Us To Examine Their "Am I The Jerk?" Dilemmas

“I (F33) am a proud owner of Peanut, my Yorkshire Terrier. I took Peanut to the dog park today and Petsmart. In the same complex is the grocery store I go to.

It was a warmer day and didn’t want to leave Peanut in the car. So I leashed him up and took him in with me.

I had planned on a quick trip, no more than ten minutes. I went to the produce department to grab some stuff.

A guy, probably in his 30s, not an employee, rudely told me that pets aren’t allowed in grocery stores and asked why I had my dog with me. Before I could respond he told me it was gross as heck to have my dog in the produce section.

I explained it was hot out and I planned to be quick in the store. I apologized and said the most convenient thing for me was to come here with Peanut. He told me to screw off and not to be a lazy pet owner.

Then he stormed off. It was a bit of a scene. Feeling uncomfortable, I just left. I thought it’d be no big deal, Peanut didn’t misbehave or have an accident, And I didn’t think I was being a jerk.”

Another User Comments:

“YTJ.

Not only is it for health code reasons that pets are generally not allowed in grocery stores, but it’s also a safety issue.

For more than just grocery stores pets aren’t allowed because they’re a liability – unless they are perfectly trained to be in public spaces, you generally don’t know how pets will react inside those stores. In addition to that, you don’t know how other people will behave in those stores.

I have a dog phobia and literally will not get close to a dog no matter how many times an owner will tell me they won’t bite or they’re well-behaved. I still don’t know how your dog will react and if they approach me for sniffs and affection I am unpredictable because it freaks me out.

I am an unpredictable variable, and I don’t know how I’ll react in fear of a dog approaching me.

I’ve seen dogs bark at people in checkout. I’ve seen dogs jump out of carts, barking aggressively at other customers. Nothing you say will help me in my fear.

Because if I feel threatened I may actually attack the dog and have come close because a dog snuck up behind me while I was working (retail).” DracaisMon

Another User Comments:

“ESH in my opinion. Don’t bring your dog into the grocery store! The person who yelled at you might have had a serious allergy or food/health anxiety, and they’re right to be angry though as a Canadian I am personally offended when anyone raises their voice at me so he kinda sucks in my mind too.

The only time I’ve ever had to bring a dog into a grocery store (and felt totally justified!) was when my puppy was 10 weeks old (I’d only had her a few days) and we were in the middle of the worst heatwave we’ve ever had here.

For context, an entire town in my province burnt to the ground. It was apparently hotter here in Canada than it’s ever been in South America – a lot of people died the summer I brought her home.

I didn’t have an a/c and lived in a poorly circulated and stifling laneway home.

I had to walk to the store to get bags of ice because we were both physically ill laying on the tile floor in the kitchen to try to cool off.

My pup was sick (later found out she came to me with worms and giardia), and had never been alone before let alone on a busy street in 50 degrees Celsius heat.

With no other options, I held her in my arms while buying juice and ice.

So in an emergency, sometimes there’s a good reason for it. But unfortunately not wanting to leave your dog alone isn’t a good enough reason, sorry OP!” goaskalexdotcom

Another User Comments:

“YTJ, and this has to be a fake post cause everyone knows, especially with the help of all the signs on the entry to grocery stores and many other places, too. It’s extremely entitled of you to think any amount of time breaking the rules was no big deal. There’s a reason why there are legit service dogs and regulations surrounding them.

There is a reason why emotional support animals and service animals have different legal protections, too.

You had a few choices as a responsible, mature adult who has respect for others and establishments you go to:

1.) Leave your dog in your car and have the car on.

Just lock the doors like most everyone else does. Then go into the store and do your shopping. This is especially easier if you have a second set of keys you keep on you for this specific reason, or you have a newer car with a key fob that allows you to keep the car running and locked while you have the key fob with you.

I lived in South Florida for over 30 years, and this is what darn near everyone does.

2.) Ordered what you wanted online and have them bring the order outside to you which a whole lot of establishments do nowadays.

3.) Gone to the grocery store another time without your dog or dropped the dog at home and turned around to go back to the store.

I love animals, I’ve grown up with darn near every type of animal. I have a tiny 8lbs Min Pin, two much larger dogs, one of those is still a puppy, a cat, and two small kids. We all love seeing dogs out and about but NOT in a place where food is sold inside.

I absolutely loathe seeing dogs that are not trained service dogs inside a restaurant or at a grocery store. NOT the time nor the place for them to be there. Outside seating of a restaurant is totally different. People are allergic to extremes to dogs and other animals.

You had your hands all over your precious pup, and who knows what at the dog park, then went straight to the produce department and touched things. That’s gross. You are entitled and obtuse. You are part of the reason so many see a dog where it shouldn’t be and no longer think or believe it’s a legal service dog.

YTJ hands down.” HopeUnknown0417

Another User Comments:

“YTJ. It takes a lot of training for a dog to be able to go into a store, not sniff stuff, not bark, not pee, and not be so nervous that they bite someone.

You’re putting your dog into a serious situation that it simply does not have the preparation and safety to handle.

What if a child had come up, and hugged your dog or, pulled its tail? A dog who is not used to strangers doing things like that could easily respond by biting.

Also, service dogs are the only dogs allowed in grocery stores, and that’s because they’re well-behaved animals, provide a service to someone else, and can interact with the public safely.

No matter how well-behaved you think your dog is, you don’t know what you’ll encounter in a public place.

Also, your dog can be a major distraction to legitimate service animals. If your dog is in any way distracting a legitimate service animal, it could miss an alert which could cause the handler to have a medical episode, among many other potential problems. If your dog were to get nervous from all the sights and stimuli in a public place like a grocery store, it could easily go after a person or a legitimate service animal, and you’d be on the hook for a person’s medical bills, and if it was a service animal that was bitten, possibly the cost of a new service animal.

No matter the size, all it takes is one bite for a service dog to be so traumatized it can never work again. Your actions have consequences. Next time, just take your dog home, drop him off, then head to the store.” Ericakat