TLDR; Karen has words with restaurant manager about keeping a dog in the seats at a restaurant... possibly lying about it's "service animal" designation.

Was out to eat with the family this weekend. Restaurants all around packed but one was relatively slow so we went there. Maybe 15% capacity.

We were seated at a booth and had ordered our food when this table of 3 came in with a dog; a poodle.

They had the dog sitting in the booth seat and it was kind of spastic; not staying still; very clear this was a high maintenance family pet and nothing more. They were literally pulling it off the table again and again.

The manager came over and inquired about the dog and very politely informed them that they could only have registered support animals in the restaurant. The Karen first claimed it was "emotional support" animal and the manager knew her stuff...

The manager said, "emotional support animals are not ADA protected animals and therefore not allowed into the restaurant."

Faced with this defeat the Karen changed her story and then told her that it was actually a registered service animal and was protected by the ADA.

The manager said then, basically, "if it's a registered ADA support animal, that's it can stay but even ADA animals cannot sit on the seats or on the table and must remain in the floor and out of the aisle." She didn't ask for proof or any other question... Simply stated that service animals are not allowed on the seats or tables.

Karen flipped her lid...

and of course you know what kind of back and forth went on there... many words like "discrimination" and "unfair" were used again and again.

The manager didn't budge: "If the animal stays, it must be in the floor. There are no exceptions."

Ultimately, Karen and her entire party left without ordering with the gratuitous, "I'm never coming back here again..."

Honestly, I'm not judging if it was an ADA protected animal or not... but if it was... I will say I've never seen one behave so erratically if it was... and if it was I can't imagine they had never ran into this hurdle before.

Don’t let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.

Odd expression - "IN the floor".

As a restaurant manager I hate dealing with this. People take advantage of a service for people with real needs. Legally we can't ask for proof which I think is absurd. I think service dogs should have cute little state IDs like people do. We can only ask what service it provides. Discrimination against a service animal gets you a 500 dollar fine, but lying about having one provides the same penalty.

And what's worse, lots of people don't know the law at all and are tricked by online services into thinking they can turn their house pet into a service animal. Service animals are acquired already trained from a gov certified company. I use to work near one and they'd bring the cute well behaved dogs in to gauge their progress.

People get so mad when you inform them of the only service animals policy, but if I don't inquire the owners get pissed. I'm just trying to do my job and no matter what someone is getting mad and wants me fired 😂

Typo?

Nah, let it.

Any animal that can get on the chairs/booth, let alone on top of the table, has to go. I won’t eat if a dog’s asshole has kissed the table top. Keep control of your animals or leave.

More businesses need to have a spine like that.

If someone says it's an emotional support animal they are no longer protected by the ADA if they try and flip and claim it's a service animal.

There is also no such thing as a "registered" service animal and anyone with a legitimate service animal knows this. The person must also be able to explain what service the animal is trained to perform. Such as "alerts if my blood pressure is dropping" or "alerts if I'm about to have a seizure". Again, anyone with a legitimate service animal knows this.

The manager is correct that service animals can not be on a seat, the table or any surface other than the floor. You are also not allowed to carry your service animal in your arms, a bag, stroller, etc. The animal must be free to move to perform its trained function.

Service animals must also be kept on a leash, harness or other teather.

I worked for years at a tourist attraction in Vegas and every day we had to argue with people trying to pass their emotional support animals off as service animals. There were loud noises and jump scares, things legitimate service animals have a better chance of handling. The owner thankfully had no patience for the liars and backed us up in security.

We even had someone come in with an emotional support person, which is apparently a thing in the UK. They demanded free entry for their emotional support person but the owner refused because we aren't in the UK. Our GM was also a huge animal advocate and had zero tolerance for the people who wanted to leave their pets in their car for 2+ hours.

ADA does not mean you must allow an animal anywhere above the ground- that's unsanitary.

And if its a legit Service dog, ask:
Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

They are required to provide an answer or they may be refused service.

Also, being an ADA legal animal does not mean anything goes; the animal must behave in a calm quiet manner that does not cayse problems for the business or other patrons, unless whatever the fuss is DIRECTLY relates to alerting the owner of a pending problem related to their training. A dog trained to bark several times and then sit to alert the owner of a blood sugar drop is NOT allowed to bark continuously for an hour.

This is a double edged sword situation. For good reasons, you cannot harass a person with disabilities about their service animals. On the flip side, it has enabled these creatons to take advantage and ruin everything.

that would my 20 years living in the south... despite being born and currently living in the north. Even if incorrect... quite a common phrase down south, usa. You're dogs in the floor.

Nah, I just have 20 years of hick experience from living down south, usa.