Why it’s so hard for Philly restaurant and bar owners to keep pets outside

Ben Fileccia has dozens of texts on his phone from Pennsylvania restaurant and bar owners wondering what questions they are allowed to ask customers dining with their canines.

“Hey sorry to bother you on a Friday night … happen to know my rights as to ‘service animals’ at the bar?” reads one recent text.

“I’m just frustrated” began another message that went on to recount a situation in which a regular customer wanted to eat at the bar with a tiny dog perched on their lap. The customer claimed the pooch was a service dog, the business owner texted Fileccia, and threatened legal action.

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Restaurateurs have to walk a fine line between complying with state and local regulations, which generally prohibit non-service animals in areas where food is prepared, and complying with the Americans With Disabilities Act, which prohibits them from asking for a service animal’s credentials, said Fileccia, senior vice president for strategy and engagement at the Pennsylvania Restaurant & Lodging Association.

Pet owners increasingly want to bring their pups along for errands and dinner dates, as The Inquirer reported last month, sometimes putting business owners and their employees in difficult positions. Some stores, even food-serving ones, openly allow pets, with workers offering them treats. Other places prohibit it. Elsewhere, workers simply look the other way, ignoring company policy or being unsure of the rules.

Some business owners say complying with the “service animals only” stipulations in local health ordinances is easier said than done. None wanted to have their names or businesses published out of fear of retaliation from dog lovers, potential repercussions from health officials, or both.

“It seems to put us in a Catch-22 where the city wants us to follow their policies,” said one Center City business owner. But “we’re not allowed to ask the customers any questions.”

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Another Center City business owner said they were sued after asking a customer with an unmarked dog — which the customer said was a service animal — to use an outdoor service window instead of being served inside. The owner said the lawsuit could have driven them out of business, had the parties not settled for a smaller amount.

“Pretty much our hands are tied,” said the owner, who has resorted to not asking dog-accompanied customers any questions. “We don’t want to upset the health department and be shut down. At the same time, we don’t want to get sued.”

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health said through a spokesperson that it had no comment for this article beyond the statement it had provided last month.

At the time, Palak Raval-Nelson, the city’s deputy commissioner for environmental health services, said of the city’s rules: “Please note that there is an allowance for legitimate service animals, not ‘emotional support’ animals, depending on the situation.”

It is also against Pennsylvania law to discriminate against anyone using a service or guide dog for a disability.

“Some service animals are licensed or certified and carry identification papers, but this is not a requirement in Pennsylvania,” said Amanda Brothman, spokesperson for the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. “However, a service animal must remain under control at all times.”

BringFido, the global database of more than 700,000 pet-friendly spots, advises against flouting the rules.

“If they only allow service animals, it’s not a good practice to pretend that it’s a service animal,” said BringFido destinations editor Erin Ballinger.

Given the number of questions he fields about service dog compliance, Fileccia has saved on his phone the answer to the most common question: What can I ask the customer?

“If it is not readily apparent that the service animal (dog, for example) is a service animal for the customer, there are only two questions you can ask about the service animal: ‘Is the animal a service animal required because of a disability?’ and ‘What tasks is the animal trained to perform?’” Fileccia said, citing the ADA rules.

“You cannot say, ‘You don’t look like you have a disability’ or ask what the disability is,” he added. “The customer does not have to state what the disability is. To inquire may be a violation of the ADA.”

In Fileccia’s decades of business experience in the Philadelphia area, he said customers with legitimate service dogs — not emotional support dogs or dogs wearing service-dog vests that can be purchased for $20 on Amazon — usually don’t get upset when asked those two questions.

“It’s important to understand the position the restaurants are in when they ask these questions,” he said. “They’re not just doing it to give you a hard time. They’re doing it to protect themselves.”