{"id":258898,"date":"2025-09-27T14:06:15","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T14:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/258898\/"},"modified":"2025-09-27T14:06:15","modified_gmt":"2025-09-27T14:06:15","slug":"why-dogs-shouldnt-be-allowed-into-restaurants","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/258898\/","title":{"rendered":"Why dogs shouldn’t be allowed into restaurants"},"content":{"rendered":"

I read with interest the recent article on the proposed ordinance concerning allowing dogs into eateries (\u201cDogs in restaurants?\u201d<\/a> Sept. 23). As a lifelong animal lover and owner of dogs, cats, rodents, fish, birds and reptiles, I certainly can relate to people\u2019s deep affection and desire to spend as much time as possible with their pets.\u00a0 However, I\u2019m also sensitive to the fact that not all have such deep affection or feelings toward the pets of other humans.<\/p>\n

In fact, I have witnessed in my work and life multiple instances of folks with legitimate health and psychological reasons for avoiding contact with other animals, particularly mammals like dogs and cats whose hair and skin can be a source of life-threatening allergic reaction and who may pose a real threat of injury if not properly handled and restrained.<\/p>\n

The proposed ordinance fails to take into account these larger community issues and concerns. The proposal also reflects some of the societal dissonance with governing for the common good versus the good of some but not all. In an urban setting like Chicago, the probability of close contact and interaction between people on either side of this proposal is significant. The harm to those impacted would be far greater than the benefit provided to the few.<\/p>\n

One can only hope that our elected officials, including aldermen, will take the time to not only respond to requests from constituents for ordinance changes but also engage and educate those same constituents and all their constituents on the potential impacts of such proposals. Particularly before formally putting them forward for full council consideration and vote.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Mary Friedlieb, Chicago<\/p>\n

A benefit \u2014 for some<\/p>\n

I grew up with dogs. Once my brothers and I had five puppies at one time! My wife had a dog too. We both love dogs. But not when we\u2019re eating at a restaurant. I am not talking about guide or service dogs.<\/p>\n

The current proposal in the Chicago City Council to allow dogs outside on restaurant patios and, goodness forbid, inside is misguided at best and a disaster waiting to happen at worst. There are people who are frightened of dogs. It doesn\u2019t matter how gentle or friendly your dog is. It\u2019s not about your dog. A friend was attacked by a dog as a child. She\u2019s petrified of any dog. Some people are just scared of dogs.<\/p>\n

Health issue No. 1: A dog is a dog. Left alone, a dog will often reach for food at an unguarded table. That is especially true if the owner is feeding them from their plate. (Admit it, you plate feeders, you know I\u2019m speaking the truth.)<\/p>\n

Health issue No. 2: Dogs will often do their business when the urge strikes.<\/p>\n

When a law is passed, it\u2019s open to all dog owners. That means not only your cute miniature poodle but also the giant Newfoundland and the German shepherd who want to protect you from all \u201cintruders.\u201d While eating outside, we\u2019ve seen a passing dog growl at and move aggressively toward the dog beneath someone\u2019s table, and naturally enough, that dog responded in kind. A dogfight was avoided but only with much restraint on both owners\u2019 part.<\/p>\n

Do we really need to have an innocent bystander get bitten or mauled before we realize that maybe it\u2019s not a good idea?<\/p>\n

Finally, as much as I love dogs, frankly, I do not want your dog next to me when I\u2019m eating. I should be able to be and feel safe when I am eating. In fact, I have that right. It\u2019s a similar right if you will, as if you were smoking: My right should not be trampled by your preference. I think most people feel the same way I do.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, your dog will do just fine left alone at home waiting happily for your return.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Fran Connelly, Western Springs<\/p>\n

Autumn is glorious<\/p>\n

It\u2019s 6 a.m. on a late October morning. The sun won\u2019t rise for another hour or so. After a couple of slices of toast, I pull on my boots, slip into my insulated vest over a hooded Bears sweatshirt and step outside toward my truck. Garbo, my 6-year-old Belgium shepherd, prances impatiently while I unlock the sliding door. She jumps in, then turns around, sits on the top step with her front feet on the bottom step, and puts her nose to the wind. Garbo\u2019s excitement is palpable. She knows exactly where we are headed.<\/p>\n

When I pull into the service drive for Beck Lake, Garbo rises up and leans out, shoulder against the door jamb. After I park, I call her out and have her sit while I lock the truck and walk to the jetty on the lake. When I raise her stick over my head, she stands, and before the stick hits the water, she runs off the end of the pier and swims for it. We repeat this game five or six times.<\/p>\n

By now, the sun peeks over the treetops to the east. We head into the woods, off the trail, to see what is different this week. Most of the leaves have fallen, and the only sound is what we make walking through them.<\/p>\n

I spot a single leaf clinging to a branch. From directly underneath, I point my camera straight up and zoom in on it. The colors are vibrant and crisp. The sun creates a soft aura around it, and I take a couple of pictures.
When the film is developed, the photo is even more spectacular, and I have it enlarged and framed.<\/p>\n

The fall season is glorious. And I can see the reminder every day.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Len Levy, Glenview<\/p>\n

Tree show is on<\/p>\n

When I moved to a second-floor apartment in my senior living building 10 years ago, the tree outside my window was only about 5 feet tall. Now it is nearly four stories high, beautifully shaped and healthy. Every season, \u201cmy tree\u201d changes her wardrobe: green for spring, yellow for summer, gold for autumn and white for winter.<\/p>\n

Quite early every morning, I open my window blinds and watch as our employees drive their cars into the parking lot to start a new day. Their headlights catch my tree for a few minutes, and the morning show is on. Over and over, the lights dance upon the branches, color explodes here and there, until the last car enters the lot, and everything is dark once more.<\/p>\n

Someone really should write a poem about the wonderment of trees.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Kathleen Melia, Niles<\/p>\n

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here<\/a> or email letters@chicagotribune.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I read with interest the recent article on the proposed ordinance concerning allowing dogs into eateries (\u201cDogs in…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":258899,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5124],"tags":[960,5386,1818,7281,1269],"class_list":{"0":"post-258898","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chicago","8":"tag-chicago","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-illinois","11":"tag-letters-to-the-editor","12":"tag-opinion"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115276650331447510","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258898"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258898\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}