For being annoyed I was asked to stand on a bus because of dog allergies?

[anywayhereswonderwall]

I went to visit a friend in London today and I took my dog. It's worth noting she is a mini poodle, and hypoallergenic, and well behaved. You can barely even tell she's there. I got on the bus as part of my journey. It was the middle of the day so there were a few empty seats (but not loads).

I got on and sat down, and the woman a few rows behind me said 'can you move , I have a dog allergy'. I apologised and moved a few rows forwards, the furthest forwards I could go and still get a seat.

She then shouted forwards 'not far enough, you're going have to stand at the front'.

I was confused, but did it. I spent the rest of the 35 minute journey standing right at the front of the bus while the woman was 3/4 of the way along, sitting.

I did what she said for the journey, but when I got off I felt annoyed and I'm not sure if I'm justified.

the post-covid world is making a lot of people reassess their priorities and how they live their lives and run their businesses.

Where i work? it's hybrid and up to you if you go to the office every day or never at all or a combination. Whatever suits you as long as you do your work. And if you want to bring your dog and lounge around with your laptop on one of the huge bean bags? have at it. Nobody has had an issue around this. I've not been there long and am taking daily allergy meds anyway (i am allergic to all known pollen and dust and animal, apparently, but OTC hayfever remedies are great) so i haven't really noticed. In my old (hotdesking) office someone who had a guineapig sat in the chair i usually sat in - with the result that i was on the floor having an asthma attack within seconds of being in the room. (we worked out who had been there, and saw the hairs on the chair)
After that they allocated that person a chair, with a label on, and they just used that one whenever they were in the office.

i also think the fact that public transport companies offer tickets for dogs, well they do in Germany anyway, indicates that there should be an expectation of at least occasionally encountering one.

Dont like dogs in cafes/pub - Don't go to places where dogs are permitted.
Want to take your dog to a cafe/pub- Go where dogs are permitted.

Thats the great thing about options being available.

i also have a disabled child.
you were rude, and i would not have left....choose a non dog friendly cafe next time.

Is that a real question or rhetorical as it is a bizarre thought process!

if its that bad she can't sit on a bus with doors opened and closed every 2 minutes she should be taking antihistamine. I think you were more than reasonable to move the first time making you stand was ridiculous

Dont like dogs in cafes/pub - Don't go to places where dogs are permitted.
Want to take your dog to a cafe/pub- Go where dogs are permitted.

Nothing wrong with that.

However, it would be easier for people to make these choices if there were notices at the entrance to indicate whether an establishment is dog friendly or not.

I would have gotten off on the next stop, let the dog piss on the bus tires and caught the next bus.

However, it would be easier for people to make these choices if there were notices at the entrance to indicate whether an establishment is dog friendly or not.

MN is good at getting campaigns started (didn't Let Toys Be Toys originate here?) get it going - it would be a really good one.

Never been to a cafe or pub etc that doesn't have a notice.

Brilliant!

But in a lot of places there aren’t non-dog options available.

I’m personally indifferent to dogs, so don’t mind either way (as long as they’re not bothering me or there’s excessive barking), but there are literally no cafes in my local town that are dog-free. It seems unfair on people with allergies or phobias. There should absolutely be a balance - I’d support places having to have a licence for dogs to be allowed, to actually give both dog-owners and the dog-averse to have a choice.

@SquareRootOfAllEvil you say they're all dog friendly and @BSB30 doesn't even know dogs are allowed in cafes

🤷‍♀️

Different areas, I guess!

Which I wonder is behind a lot of the different views.

So if someone with a nut allergy goes to the movies, do they ask everyone NOT to eat any nuts? If a venue is dog friendly then people with dogs have as much right to be there as anyone else.

so if you want to go in a café but all the cafés seem to be dog friendly speak to the café owners? if enough people flag it up maybe they'll change their mind?

When I go on holiday/for a day trip/whatever with my dog I do enough research ahead of time to check whether dogs are allowed - on the bus, on the beach, in a cafe etc

I would be very annoyed if I was turned away, after checking ahead of time, because there was someone there who couldn't cope with dogs, but hadn't checked ahead of time whether dogs might be there.

Another good point - if you go into a cafe' and there are loud children, would you ask the parents to leave because the noise is affecting your enjoyment of the place?

Me either, it's how we know they're dog friendly.
Equally google is pretty handy for listing dogs / no dogs, if you search town name and dog friendly / no dogs.

There should absolutely be a balance - I’d support places having to have a licence for dogs to be allowed, to actually give both dog-owners and the dog-averse to have a choice.

You can’t mandate that though - these are private businesses and they’re entitled to try and make as much money as they can which these days tends to be by appealing to dog-owners. You can’t mandate a business operate less profitably because some people don’t like dogs. It’s unfair but that’s capitalism.

If there’s a real call for dog free spaces then businesses will do it voluntarily if they think it’ll increase their takings. But if every place near you allows dogs, there’s a reason for it - it makes the most financial sense.

Definitely a post COVID thing. So many entitled dog owners who assume you want their scruffy bag of fur clawing at your clothes or sniffing around your feet. I don't care if "he's friendly" or "harmless".
I don't like dogs. I'm not allergic, not phobic, I just don't like dogs. I realise I am probably in the minority.
I hate going to a pub, cafe or restaurant and having dogs sniffing around and barking. It makes me feel uncomfortable. I also think it's unhygienic and lots of dogs DO smell bad.
The problem is they are everywhere now. There are very few places that can afford to turn away the business of dog owners but I would definitely support any business that did.

(My preference would be no dogs or children but no business wants to do that and that’s fair enough!)

i would ask the manager to handle it - and yes, if they refused to keep them under control (assuming it's not a café which is specifically there for kids to scream in and just a normal run-of-the-mill café) i would expect the manager to ask them to leave.

And if not: well i'd be letting him know why I'd be spending my future coffee money in his rival's establishment. To be fair: if it were dogs running around, noisy people in general being extra obnoxiously noisy and disturbing i'd do the same for any of those reasons too.

How is it relevant, one is an animal, the other is a human being so has actual 'human rights', they are not comparable. It was a park cafe and some babies were crying but the owner asked the dog owners to leave so they obviously didn't feel the two are comparable either - funny that!

I've had my dog looong before the pandemic and my experience of taking her to pubs and cafes is that not ONCE have I been able to have a peaceful time because of there people's kids coming over to bother her/us if it is a family friendly place.

She is a calm and older dog so she sleeps under the table and doesn't cause any disruption yet there are always kids whose parents are more interested in their wine time than keeping an eye on what chaos their little darlings are causing. The looks and comments you get when you ask them to keep their kids away from your table/dog while you're trying to enjoy a meal is often disgraceful. I always ask politely (we are parents and have sympathy for trying to live a life while wrangling little ones) but if the reaction is rude or ridiculous, I always make clear that they either keep their child away from my dog or there will be consequences. The dog can be put down for any reaction but I won't be.

Consideration works both ways.