There’s a restaurant in my neighborhood that has a “no children in the bar side of the restaurant” rule. It is a family-friendly Italian restaurant with arguably the best pizza in town. We had no idea of the policy, though we noticed that one side of the restaurant always had tons of children. After the birth of our first child we discovered why. When we requested our favorite booth, we were immediately shut down: “no children or babies on the bar side of the restaurant.” With our heads hanging, we made our way to the “kids’ side.” Were we mad? No. Did we understand? Absolutely. Did we still get to…
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What Business Owners Should Know About Service Dogs and Emotional Support Animals
With increasing frequency, dog owners are claiming their pets are service animals, even when they are not. Unlike the United Kingdom, the United States does not have a requirement that service dogs be certified, but they do have to meet certain criteria under the Americans with Disabilities Act (the ADA) and an increasing number of states are making it illegal to misrepresent your pet as a service animal. According to the ADA, service dogs are defined as “dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities.” This means the person must have either a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or…