While dogs are man’s best friends, it appears that pooches are causing a stir in San Francisco, with residents sharing their grievances.
In the “r/sanfrancisco” forum on Reddit, users discussed how the city is “running out of patience” with dogs.
“The worst is dogs in grocery stores, which is a health code violation,” commented one user.
A person agreed, writing, “You aren’t special. If you need to go grocery shopping, leave your dog at home like the rest of us do.”
“We need cops to write citations for unleashed dogs. They’re supposed to—it’s up to a $500 fine in San Francisco,” said another user.
One Redditor said, “I think there needs to be a change to the current state of the law on what businesses can demand for proof of a service animal. Right now, all an employee can do is ask if it’s a service animal and what service the dog is trained to perform.
“No documentation required. If the dog misbehaves (which a true service dog wouldn’t do), in theory a business could have the dog and owner removed, but businesses aren’t usually willing to risk the legal liability and negative PR [public relations] if they get it wrong.”
Forbes recently rated San Francisco as the best city for dogs this year.
Reports about off-leash dogs have risen 6% over the past year, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
There are 109 dog-friendly activities in San Francisco, according to BringFido.
The popular pet travel and lifestyle brand’s website lists various places from dog parks and hiking trails to beaches and pet-friendly stores.
The Golden Gate National Recreational Area is one of the parks mentioned.
“We are proud to be the only park in the National Park Service to designate particular areas for allowing responsible dog walking off-leash when under voice and sight control,” the National Park Service (NPS) site states.
San Francisco resident Rose Crelli told the WSJ she was approached by dogs while having coffee at Alamo Square Park.
“It literally launched itself at my pastry and got its mouth all over it and covered it with drool,” said Crelli.
She claimed the dog’s owner saw the incident and continued walking.
New resident Chandra Wilson owns a dachshund and told the WSJ she takes her dog everywhere she is allowed to but expects dogs to have manners.
“I saw the dog poop on the floor…People were a little gobsmacked,” said Wilson.
A manager at a local Trader Joe’s told the WSJ that the number of dogs coming into the shop is out of hand.
San Francisco Duties of Owners or Guardians (Health Code § 41.12) prohibits dogs from being off leash in areas other than designated off-leash exercise areas.
A first offense results in a $50 fine with subsequent offenses (within 12 months) are punishable with fines up to $1,000.
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