Dog banned from Gulf coast store

miamiherald ^ | 12.04.09

[JoeProBono]

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- A state health inspector says a dog familiar to many regular customers at a Gulf coast gas station will no longer be able to join his owner at work.

The Clearwater BP station's owner, Karim Mansour, received a warning from the Florida Department of Health on Thursday, informing him that Cody would have to go or all of the store's food - mostly bottled soda, candy and other snacks - would be declared unfit for consumption.

[JoeProBono]

Cody, the chocolate Labrador who jumps up and greets customers at the drive-through window of a Florida gas station — has been declared a health hazard and ordered to leave the premises.

[Secret Agent Man]

I would bet that dog is healthier and better dressed than more than half the humans that flip-flop their way through that station.

[Buddygirl]

This is stupid. If a service dog was to come in with its owner, would the service dog be banned? Some stores in the past had dogs that laid around and greeted customers with a wag of a tail... Now they can’t be inside with their owners!

[Repeat Offender]

I’d take the dog over a moose-limb.

[freedumb2003]

“Zero Tolerance” = “Zero Ability to Think.”

[donhunt]

Too many damn rules.

[packrat35]

Thank God, the government is here to protect us! Sarcasm intended!

[oldtimer]

How do we regulate?

It is easy.

Just make me a government employee, and I will show you the power!

[Radl]

Too many damn rules.

___________________________________

Too many government workers with nothing to do.

[nothingnew]

You can ban my dog from going to work with me when you pry him from my cold dead hands. (FMCDH)

FMCDH(BITS)

[umgud]

You can ban my dog from going to work with me when you pry him from my cold dead hands. (FMCDH)

[Qout]

Too bad it was a chocolate Labrador retriever. If it were a Chihuahua, he could have claimed the dog was there to kill the rats. :)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

Oh, No! Not Cody!

That’s it! That’s the LAST straw! I’m movin’ to Canada and I’m taking my dogs with me!

(I’m sure we can find work in a gas station up there.)

[Diana in Wisconsin]

That is adorable! Wish my mutt had a tad longer hair; I’d shave her up like that in a heartbeat, LOL! :)

[HokieMom]

Dog germs! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq9hBEvFNlM

[TASMANIANRED]

I could almost see banning him if fresh foods were involved but since it is all sealed , this is just an example of bureaucratic heavy handedness.

[fatnotlazy]

Aren’t the snacks, bottled soda et al. contained in sealed packages? If so, how would Cody contaminate any of them?

Methinks that the dog has more smarts than the health department bureaucrats.

[Mjaye]

There used to be plenty of neat little stores and gas stations with resident dogs who made visiting the places very entertaining. I know of a couple of local shops where dogs reside, no food involved, and at least the gov’t hasn’t banned them for contaminating the goods.

[fatnotlazy]

There is a store in downtown Pittsburgh which sells office supplies and stationery. Some years ago, one of the employees brought in a cat named Smokey which she had rescued. Smokey lived at the store for about 17 years, greeting people or just sitting around waiting to be petted.

Once a woman accused Smokey of biting her and she took the store to court. Fortunately, the lawsuit was dismissed. The store had a jar on its checkout counter labeled “Smokey Defense Fund.” Turned out that the store was represented by a longtime customer and attorney, so there was little or no cost of litigation to the store. The money collected was given to an animal shelter.

Since Smokey's demise, the store has had a number of resident cats. Now it's a tradition to have at least one around. These cats make shopping there a pleasant experience. I know I can buy a lot of my supplies from Office Depot, Staples or Office Max for a lot less than this store, but those stores don't have a resident cat I can pet. Having an animal to love is a great stress reducer too.