I can almost understand the zoo’s position…although the dogs might be fine, goats might not be. Children and other animals could be hurt, if the goats became upset. If the zoo had received special dispensation, from the ADA, as a result of a previous event, that documentation should have been made available to the handlers, even posted to prevent humiliation and embarrassment in the future.
My service dog and I have visited our local petting zoo many times. He ignores the animals, and they ignore him. I think those ladies have had their rights violated. If the zoo had told them at the front gate “Your dogs are most welcome here EXCEPT in the goat pen” then that would have been totally different. No violations there, just a clear understanding of the zoo rules right up front with no surprises later.
When I visited Disney World I found out that Animal Kingdom’s petting zoo has the same policy. I did want to pet the sheep (I love animals and want to pet everything haha), but I could understand why the rule was in place and didn’t fight it. It’s nothing against the dogs, it’s purely for the safety and comfort of the farm animals. They aren’t used to dogs and can react unexpectedly, potentially hurting themselves, other farm animals, the dog or even children.
I think the zoo is well within its rights to take steps to keep its animals safe. The primary goal for a zoo should be to provide good care to the animals it houses, and that means keeping those animals safe.
I believe the Zoo did not do anything wrong. The most important issue as a handler of a service dog is to keep my dog’s safety in mind at all times. My dog has never seen goats and I am sure the goats are not use to dogs. The Zoo has the responsibility of keeping the animals safe as well as the visitors to the zoo. I believe it would have been better for this policy to be up front, but I understand this policy.
I went to the fair here and only had trouble with the birds barn but that was put to rest as Belle doesn’t bother birds. I took her in the petting zoo part and had no trouble. She wanted to see the animals so they allowed her to sniff some of them. I also took her to Underwater World at the Big Mall and had no trouble with people there. Was asked questions about her. I answered them to the best of my learning. I will be taking her to one of the zoos here next year and see how she does.
So yes I think their rights were rilated too.
We visited the Memphis Zoo in July 2009 and they were very accommodating. The only rules were that we had to have a Zoo escort while viewing the Big Cat exhibit and were not allowed to go into the Bird House.
As animal lovers we respected their wishes and also realized that we should have not even gone into the Big Cat exhibit as it was very disruptive to the Cats. In fact most of the animals we visited exhibited obvious anxiety. We felt bad after visiting and decided in the future to make other arrangements for our Service Dog while visiting Zoo’s.
To us the safety and well being of the Zoo animals take precedence over our convenience.
Luckily we are in a position to be able to be separated from our service dog for short periods of time.
I wouldn’t want to bring my SD into an animal contact area. I can’t guarantee how the other animals are going to react, and I don’t want to risk possible infections, injuries, etc from the other animals, as you never know what goes cross species. Some people seem to forget the words fundamental altercation to a business…petting zoo animals (goats, pigs, whatever else) freaking out would seem to fall under that.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
I can almost understand the zoo’s position…although the dogs might be fine, goats might not be. Children and other animals could be hurt, if the goats became upset. If the zoo had received special dispensation, from the ADA, as a result of a previous event, that documentation should have been made available to the handlers, even posted to prevent humiliation and embarrassment in the future.
My service dog and I have visited our local petting zoo many times. He ignores the animals, and they ignore him. I think those ladies have had their rights violated. If the zoo had told them at the front gate “Your dogs are most welcome here EXCEPT in the goat pen” then that would have been totally different. No violations there, just a clear understanding of the zoo rules right up front with no surprises later.
When I visited Disney World I found out that Animal Kingdom’s petting zoo has the same policy. I did want to pet the sheep (I love animals and want to pet everything haha), but I could understand why the rule was in place and didn’t fight it. It’s nothing against the dogs, it’s purely for the safety and comfort of the farm animals. They aren’t used to dogs and can react unexpectedly, potentially hurting themselves, other farm animals, the dog or even children.
I think the zoo is well within its rights to take steps to keep its animals safe. The primary goal for a zoo should be to provide good care to the animals it houses, and that means keeping those animals safe.
Hey guys,
I found this ongoing debate and I wanted to share it with you:
http://www.debateitout.com/should-pets-be-allowed-in-stores.html#idc-container
Jake
I believe the Zoo did not do anything wrong. The most important issue as a handler of a service dog is to keep my dog’s safety in mind at all times. My dog has never seen goats and I am sure the goats are not use to dogs. The Zoo has the responsibility of keeping the animals safe as well as the visitors to the zoo. I believe it would have been better for this policy to be up front, but I understand this policy.
I went to the fair here and only had trouble with the birds barn but that was put to rest as Belle doesn’t bother birds. I took her in the petting zoo part and had no trouble. She wanted to see the animals so they allowed her to sniff some of them. I also took her to Underwater World at the Big Mall and had no trouble with people there. Was asked questions about her. I answered them to the best of my learning. I will be taking her to one of the zoos here next year and see how she does.
So yes I think their rights were rilated too.
We visited the Memphis Zoo in July 2009 and they were very accommodating. The only rules were that we had to have a Zoo escort while viewing the Big Cat exhibit and were not allowed to go into the Bird House.
As animal lovers we respected their wishes and also realized that we should have not even gone into the Big Cat exhibit as it was very disruptive to the Cats. In fact most of the animals we visited exhibited obvious anxiety. We felt bad after visiting and decided in the future to make other arrangements for our Service Dog while visiting Zoo’s.
To us the safety and well being of the Zoo animals take precedence over our convenience.
Luckily we are in a position to be able to be separated from our service dog for short periods of time.
I wouldn’t want to bring my SD into an animal contact area. I can’t guarantee how the other animals are going to react, and I don’t want to risk possible infections, injuries, etc from the other animals, as you never know what goes cross species. Some people seem to forget the words fundamental altercation to a business…petting zoo animals (goats, pigs, whatever else) freaking out would seem to fall under that.
Leave a Comment