Should Dogs be allowed in live theaters?

OK, Who thinks dogs should be allowed in live theaters? 

We're currently staying in a nice mobile home/ RV park in the Sacramento valley here in California and were invited up to Auburn Ca for a "Concert Band" ( mostly horns, no string instruments) band.  There were four of us.  I have pollen, dog, cat and other animal allergies.  After the concert started, I discovered something bumping into the back of my arm.  I was really surprised when I spotted a big black lab standing quietly behind my chair!  I had to do a double take!  But, I wasn't offended, because I do like dogs ( just not in a theater) and it was just standing there but my problem is, I mentioned earlier allergies; in about 5 minutes, I had itchy, watery eyes and tried not to sneeze.  I don't think he was a medical or service dog.  He and his owner (a young girl) just looked like they were just strolling through the park and decided to come in to listen to the band.  This concert was intended as a casual affair.  The theater seats about  4 hundred people.  It was mostly full. The band was about 55/60 members. This was in a small town of apx 18,000.  When I couldn't stand it any longer, I told my DH I was moving and just to hold on to my coat.  I (just me)  just got up and moved to another seat in another row.    Am I the only one who thinks; pets should stay home?

The answer depends on WHY the dog is there.

Some Dogs are just dogs

Some Dogs are SERVICE dogs.. They are there because they provide one or another service to their handler...For example, since this was a concert.. Perhaps the handler was blind and needed the dog's eyes... There is a man I know who... Well, I'm not sure what the medical condition is called but the dog keeps him from falling down... And I have seen many other types of service dogs as well.

Service dogs MUST be allowed.

Pets... NOT.

As John states, it might be difficult to tell by looking at the owner, whether he needs a service dog.  But most service animals have vests on that identify them as such.  That would make it easier to know and be considerate to the owner if that is why the animal was there.  I agree that service animals must, and should, be allowed.  Pets not, for the reasons that the OP experienced.

Kids under 19 should be kept out and dogs let in, with a muzzle, if the owner can't control their bark. No muzzle required for dog movies.

Dont go to Europe then.  You will find dogs almost everywhere, including restraunts. Well behaved dogs are or should I say should be allowed anywhere unruly kids are allowed.  I understand about your allergies, and the smart move on your part was to move.  No reason you should suffer, just like there should be no reason well behaved pets cannot enjoy being with their pack

I spent my life and career working with dogs. 

I love dogs and can't be without them.

If that dog is not a service dog, it should NOT be there for many reasons.

If it brought out your allergies then you should have complained to management. This girl wanting to bring her dog ruined your enjoyment and that is just not fair.

There is a place and time for dogs and the  theater is neither.

The OP said that the dog was NOT a service dog, therefore you should have notified a worker at the concert and explained your situation. I'm sure they would have made to girl move or ask her to leave with her dog.  If it would have been a service dog, I don't think you would have had a leg to stand on. But talking to the owner of the service dog, they may have moved just for you.  Anyone know if it's a law that service dogs can go anyplace with it's owner. 

Rene T said:

Anyone know if it's a law that service dogs can go anyplace with it's owner.

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This is a FEDERAL law.  You cannot discriminate against service animals.  I believe it is part of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
BTW  we have a Granddaughter that is handicapped.  While their dog is technically not a service animal it is considered a therapy dog.  Rules dont apply to the dog, but those of us that know do consider it a service dog.  Could be a case lke that?  Never know.

donn said:

This is a FEDERAL law.  You cannot discriminate against service animals.  I believe it is part of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
BTW  we have a Granddaughter that is handicapped.  While their dog is technically not a service animal it is considered a therapy dog.  Rules dont apply to the dog, but those of us that know do consider it a service dog.  Could be a case lke that?  Never know.

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Do service dogs need to have the jacket on when it's working?

I can go on line and get papers saying my dog is a service dog. I think that dogs should not be allowed in any enclosed public venue and very few open ones.

Rene T said:

Do service dogs need to have the jacket on when it's working?

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Generally yes, but you wont see a jacket worn by guide dogs.  A jacket could interfere with the harness

My answer - NO

And while I would naturally exception for legitimate service animals, I would even suggest that service animals should not just have free reign, just out of sympathy for people like you.  You, Mr allergy sufferer should not have to suffer because Mr blind person chooses a dog instead of a cane.

Just about the only service dogs I have seen with some sort of jacket or sign were service dogs in training, or so said the sign.
I have often wondered why such a sign should not be required for all service dogs. period.  & I don't buy that the sign interferes with the harness because ALL, with I think one exception of the dogs I have seen with such a sign, were in fact in a harness such that a blind person would be using.

I love most dogs.  They are wonderful animals.  There a very few that i would argue have no business being pets, but they are wonderful..... but I do take pause anytime I see an animal brought into a public arena..... save something like a park or a pet store where I might expect it.  I often see folks with their lap dogs in places like Lowes, & I have to think how rude it is.  Granted that dog might be some sort of therapy dog, and if so I think it should wear a sign when in public just like any other service dog should..... but if it's truly not necessary to be there, it should not be.  Some people are allergic. other people are afraid of dogs.  Those people should have rights too.

& re. the comparison of dogs to kids.....I like dogs a lot, I also like kids a lot.  There are places where I will try not to take my young kids... some place I simply do not go with them (which mostly happen to be places I wouldn't want to go anyway, but...).  All that is fine and dandy for joking around, but the comparison by some of you that these dogs should be equal to kids, if you are serious.... is just plain idiotic.  I'm not gonna sugar coat it.  Unruly or not....a child is a person, a dog is an animal.

Do service dogs need to have the jacket on when it's working?

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Service dogs have vests that designate them as service dogs and should have it on when going into areas where dogs are not normally allowed.

I would think common courtesy would dictate that if you are walking a dog in a park and decide to stop and listen to a concert, that you would sit on the outer edges of the theater. This is just as beneficial for the dog as for the people too.

I dont agree that service dogs should not be in a public area. For one thing, those dogs are not given to just anyone for any reason. They are specially trained dogs who are given to someone who needs them in order to be as independent and lead as productive a life as possible. Without the service dogs, they would be isolated from society and that would not be healthy for them and it would probably make their condition worse in some cases.

There is no easy answer to this, you have the rights of the disabled person who needs the dog against the rights of the allergy sufferer to who needs to avoid them. Both have a right to be there and its not fair to ask either one to stay home so the other can go out.

[quote author=blw2]
You, Mr allergy sufferer should not have to suffer because Mr blind person chooses a dog instead of a cane.  [/quote]
Excuse me!    I may be wrong, but I would think it may be a tad easier for the poor "allergy sufferer" to mitigate the situation than that insensitive blind person.

blw2 said:

& re. the comparison of dogs to kids.....I like dogs a lot, I also like kids a lot.  There are places where I will try not to take my young kids... some place I simply do not go with them (which mostly happen to be places I wouldn't want to go anyway, but...).  All that is fine and dandy for joking around, but the comparison by some of you that these dogs should be equal to kids, if you are serious.... is just plain idiotic.  I'm not gonna sugar coat it.  Unruly or not....a child is a person, a dog is an animal.

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I think they were joking when they said that about allowing dogs but not kids.

That said, I can't recall a service dog ever ruining a movie in a theater, or a what would otherwise have been a nice intimate dinner at an expensive restaurant. (Of course if I had allergies it could be different.)

Unfortunately however, there seems to be no question that there are people who abuse the ADA and the fact that it makes it easy for anyone to claim it is a service dog. You don't have to have it registered and a business owner or other public entity cannot ask you to prove that it is a service dog. I heard a lady who was pushing a Yorkie around in a baby stroller tell that to someone who asked how she can take the dog everywhere. I looked it up and it is true.

? 35.136 Service animals
(f) Inquiries. A public entity shall not ask about the nature or extent of a person?s disability, but may make two inquiries to determine whether an animal qualifies as a service animal. A public entity may ask if the animal is required because of a disability and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform. A public entity shall not require documentation, such as proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal. Generally, a public entity may not make these inquiries about a service animal when it is readily apparent that an animal is trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability (e.g., the dog is observed guiding an individual who is blind or has low vision, pulling a person?s wheelchair, or providing assistance with stability or balance to an individual with an observable mobility disability).

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Michael

Ive seen that too. Ive seen a family decided their special needs child needs a service dog just because he had special needs. They go to get a service dog and are turned down because there is no specific need that qualifies the child for a service dog. They then get their own dog, untrained, and call it a service dog. The landlord can't refuse to rent to them and then the dog destroys the house. Those instances are few and far between though, I would be confident saying that most of the ones you see are genuine service dogs.

There is a program here in the cities that trains dogs to help veterans with PTSD. The dogs are trained to pick up on cues from their owner. When the owners anxiety level rises, the dog will stand leaning against the owner and between the owner and whatever is causing the anxiety. 

My own opinion is that the dogs should all be certified by an official entity, whether local or national. And there should be serious fines for people who don't have that certification.

I think the key here is that if this was an open air area in a public park and no signs were posted saying "dogs not allowed" then the dog has every right to be there.  And no offense to the original poster, but if one person is the only  "dog allergic" person in the audience then why make anyone who brings their dog go home or miss the concert because of that one person.  We see too much of that mentality these days.

I think you did the most polite thing by moving so that the dog didn't bother you any further.  You could have asked the young girl to move; but you were more gracious.

Like someone else posted, if I were attending and dogs were allowed, I would have been on the outskirts so that my dog didn't bother anyone.

Marsha~

As someone else who is allergic to our four-legged friends, it's amazing how the "rights" of the dogs have taken over in some places (Air France used to allow dogs to roam around inside their airplanes).  The young lady with the dog probably should have done as Marsha said, stayed at the edge of the seating area and not among people who might have allergy problems.  She was an inconsiderate person (assuming no disability).  Then there are the companies that not only allow but encourage their employees to bring their dogs to work!  I not only couldn't work in such an environment, I wouldn't patronize a business like that.  I love dogs (even though I don't touch them) but there are appropriate places and times for their presence, such as "real" service animals.  Everyone has rights, but being considerate of others should perhaps trump those rights, especially in public venues.

ArdraF

So your "rights" should trump my "rights"? Is that what y'all are saying?  We are hearing one side of the story.  I am sure there is another, just as valid side to this story.  For instance, the OP says young girl.  How young?  Are the parents going to leave her alone? I dont think so!  Was she handicapped and it was a service animal?  Who knows!  It sounds like this was an open air concert, so....like someone else already mentioned was the family already in the park with their fur friend?  Could they have left him in their car? Possibly, but if it was warm out he could have easily died from heat stroke.  IMHO the OP did the right thing, he moved.  Nuff said!