luhoplay When I’m Dining Out, Should I Have to Deal With Your Dogs?
Some time ago, my mother and I went to have our weekly lunch at a New York restaurant. The restaurant allowed dogs, and a woman walked in with two dogs on leashes and sat down. One of the dogs sniffed my coat and got a mucous stain on it. Both were whimpering and whining and restless, moving around under our table. They both smelled. She then asked the waiter to serve her dogs water, so this old waiter had to bend down to the ground and place a container there for them; the dogs noisily slurped the water. Later my mother joked that she should walk up to their table panting and barking and coming inches from their legs under their table to give them a sense of how we felt.
I once had a dog trample on my picnic and put its nose in my food, and the owners just said, ‘‘Don’t worry, she’s friendly.’’ ‘‘We’re not!’’ I replied. I know people love their dogs and can’t imagine why anyone else wouldn’t, but isn’t there an ethical responsibility when you are in public to respect people’s private space? — Name Withheld, New York
From the Ethicist:
I agree that the dog owner behaved poorly here. But so did the restaurant. Presumably you were dining indoors, where New York City’s health code forbids animals unless they’re trained service animals, not to be confused with emotional-support animals. (In outdoor dining areas, where dogs aren’t forbidden, a sign is supposed to be posted that states, among other things, ‘‘You are responsible for controlling your dog at all times.’’) On what would seem the safe assumption that these weren’t service animals, the restaurant was in violation of the law. Some restaurants turn a blind eye toward pooches, admittedly. All the same, you might have reminded the manager of the health code.
I’m not going to weigh in on the wisdom of that code. I will say that even in a place like Paris, where dining establishments generally permit dogs, there are definite social norms about regulating their conduct; they’re basically meant to stay under your table, and if you let them make a nuisance of themselves, you can find yourself moved to that table à côté des toilettes. Which points to another way that this restaurant let you down: If it was going to allow a violation of the health code, it shouldn’t have compounded the problem by allowing a violation of basic social etiquette. The manager should, at the very least, have found a polite way to tell this patron to control her furry companions. So again, you would have been within your rights to complain to the manager. Of course, you would also have been within your rights to dine elsewhere. There are maybe 25,000 places to eat in New York, and at most of them you won’t be troubled by an inconsiderate dog owner.
We are having trouble retrieving the article content.
Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access.
Already a subscriber? Log in.
Want all of The Times? Subscribe.luhoplay