Last night my husband and I went out to dinner at a mid-sized Italian restaurant with a split personality. One side of Amante's offered full entrees and the other served only pizza. Outside, a musician entertained those patrons dining on the front patio with his singing and guitar playing. Since the main door was left open we could hear him inside as well, although somewhat muffled. There was also some canned Italian music wafting in from somewhere, making the noise level of the place fairly high and necessitating leaning in towards your dinner companion to carry on any sort of conversation.
Making things worse, underneath all the hubbub I heard the constant and distinct sound of a dog barking. At first I thought I had had too much sun that day and was hearing things. Then I figured maybe I'd had too much Chianti. I tried to ignore it but the sound persisted. Finally I asked our waiter if there were a dog on the premises. He rolled his eyes and nodded his head in the direction of the pizza room, saying, "These days people slap a vest on their dog and call it a service animal and there's nothing we can do. We have to let them in."
This I had to see. I went into the next room and saw a man and woman seated in a booth who were sharing a large pizza while their dog, some sort of hound, sat on the floor underneath their table, begging for food and barking soulfully as only a hound can bark. It was pathetic. The couple ignored the dog completely; no treats under the table for him. And apparently no concern that they might be bothering everyone else in the restaurant.
I was reminded of a friend of mine who got a dog at the pound, a huge mixed breed boxer and pit bull. She claimed the dog was "a sweetheart" but still it was damn scary-looking, that's for sure. Anyway, Judy wanted the ability to take the dog everywhere with her, so she applied for it to be a service animal. All she had to do was go to City Hall, pay ten bucks for a certificate and get one of those vests. Now the dog can accompany her on flights, on the train, in restaurants, to the doctor's office, in fact anywhere and everywhere, because supposedly Judy "needs her for emotional support." FYI, what Judy really needs is a shrink since that dog has not done one thing to make her any less crazy. (I'm just sayin'.)
Making things worse, underneath all the hubbub I heard the constant and distinct sound of a dog barking. At first I thought I had had too much sun that day and was hearing things. Then I figured maybe I'd had too much Chianti. I tried to ignore it but the sound persisted. Finally I asked our waiter if there were a dog on the premises. He rolled his eyes and nodded his head in the direction of the pizza room, saying, "These days people slap a vest on their dog and call it a service animal and there's nothing we can do. We have to let them in."This I had to see. I went into the next room and saw a man and woman seated in a booth who were sharing a large pizza while their dog, some sort of hound, sat on the floor underneath their table, begging for food and barking soulfully as only a hound can bark. It was pathetic. The couple ignored the dog completely; no treats under the table for him. And apparently no concern that they might be bothering everyone else in the restaurant.
I was reminded of a friend of mine who got a dog at the pound, a huge mixed breed boxer and pit bull. She claimed the dog was "a sweetheart" but still it was damn scary-looking, that's for sure. Anyway, Judy wanted the ability to take the dog everywhere with her, so she applied for it to be a service animal. All she had to do was go to City Hall, pay ten bucks for a certificate and get one of those vests. Now the dog can accompany her on flights, on the train, in restaurants, to the doctor's office, in fact anywhere and everywhere, because supposedly Judy "needs her for emotional support." FYI, what Judy really needs is a shrink since that dog has not done one thing to make her any less crazy. (I'm just sayin'.)
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