WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Where shopping is a pleasure, no pets are allowed.
New signs have popped up at all 1,350 Publix entrances that read only service animals are allowed inside, not pets or emotional support animals.
"No, I'm not happy with that," Lina Avihannal said.
Avihannal, who lives near the Publix along Fern Street in downtown West Palm Beach, said stopping at Publix is part of her daily routine after taking her dog, which isn't a service animal, for a walk.
"Now, I cannot do that," she said. "I have to come home, drop the dog off and go back out."
Seeing the signs, she said she plans to boycott Publix.
"My plan is not to go to this Publix again," Avihannal said.
According to Publix, the "no pets allowed" signage is new, but the policy has stayed the same.
The Publix signs read, in part:
"A service animal is a dog or miniature horse that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks to assist an individual with a disability. Dogs, miniature horses, or other animals that provide only emotional support, comfort, or companionship are not considered service animals."
Gustavo Carvalho went shopping at Publix on Friday with his service dog Minucho.
"From your experience of going to Publix, do you often see pets inside?" WPTV reporter Joel Lopez asked.
"I do," Carvalho said. "As a matter of fact, I just came out and saw a pet right there."
Carvalho said his dog goes with him everywhere and carries proof of his service dog certification.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act, if it's unclear whether someone's dog is a service dog, establishments like Publix may ask two questions:
- Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
- What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
However, Publix employees are not allowed to ask for any documentation that the dog is registered, licensed or certified as a service animal or ask that the dog demonstrate its task, or ask about the person's disability.
The ADA also said service animals aren't required to wear vests.
According to the ADA, the tasks animals can be trained to do to be considered a service animal are:
- retrieve objects for a person who uses a wheelchair
- remind a person with depression to take their medication
- alert a person with PTSD of an oncoming panic attack by licking their hand
- detect the onset of a seizure and help the person remain safe during the seizure if the person has epilepsy
"I think dogs inside of grocery stores are just kind of risky with people with allergies and just the germs all around it," Skylar Senes, who is in favor of Publix's no-pet policy, said.
Senes said she has a Boxer and a small Shihtzu at home but, for health reasons, doesn't bring them grocery shopping.
"Some dogs shed, and it can get inside the open food areas like the food and the produce sections," she said.
Keep in mind that even if a pet is a service animal, it's not allowed to be inside a grocery cart or shopping basket.
Publix has not issued a reason for the new signage but a Publix employee along Fern Street in downtown West Palm Beach said they've had incidents where dogs have had accidents inside the store.