Is It Just Me, Or Do You Also Think This Is Disgusting and Inappropriate?

Blogging, business, family, health related issues, humor, lessons learned 2 Minutes

This past weekend my wife, son, and I went out to dinner in the wonderful small town of West Chester, PA.

The town is the county seat, and in addition is home to a large state university, West Chester University (one of our swimming archrivals when I was in college).

The town has done a great job attracting people to its downtown area with a great mix of restaurants and small businesses. They also shut down the two main streets for about three blocks so that no cars can drive through the main downtown district. Many restaurants have taken advantage of this setup by putting up dining tables right on the street.

The night we were there the town was hopping. Every restaurant (and there are many of them) seemed to have a great crowd. In fact, when we left our restaurant there was at least a 30-minute wait for a table. There were also lots of families just strolling the streets, many with their dogs in tow as well.

Anyway, enough background info. Let me get to the point of my story.

In addition to the many dogs strolling the streets (on a leash, and all well-behaved), there were also many dogs sitting next to the outside dining tables while their owners ate. Again, so far so good.

However, that perception changed quickly.

While we were waiting for our food, I happened to notice one of the dog owners holding something underneath her table and letting her dog lick whatever it was. At first, I just assumed it was a treat the owner had brought to keep her dog under control while the family ate.

But then I took a closer look and I noticed that the dog was actually licking one of the dinner forks! After the dog was done licking the fork, the owner then put it back on the table. I assume the owner was done eating at that point and had no need to use her fork again.

But even if that was the case, I found the entire scene outrageous.

Now I know that the fork will be thoroughly washed by the restaurant. But at some point, some innocent restaurant patron is going to be using the fork that was licked by that dog.

To me, that is quite disgusting.

Plus, the simple act of letting your dog lick your fork while sitting at an outdoor restaurant just seems totally inappropriate.

So I’m curious, is it just me who finds this totally unacceptable?

P.S. By the way, right after I witnessed this scene, I immediately took out my phone, and sent myself an email with the subject line: Dog eating off fork. I told my wife, if nothing else, that I should be able to take those four words and turn them into a 500-word blog post. I came close; this post is 485 words…

*image from Hello West Chester

Published by Jim Borden

A 60-something guy trying to figure out the world, and his place in it. Happily married for 40-plus years, three wonderful sons. Accounting teacher, fitness enthusiast, blogger, reader.

Published

100 thoughts on “Is It Just Me, Or Do You Also Think This Is Disgusting and Inappropriate?”

  1. I couldn’t agree more, Jim, and I, too, have witnessed some outrageous things in my neck of the woods! I am not averse to dogs, but they have no business being brought to a restaurant, or supermarket or post office, where I have encountered them. I am asthmatic and also uncomfortable around strange animals. We more recently were at a restaurant for my daughter’s birthday. A couple walked in with their Pitbull puppy, who proceeded to lie on the floor next to the table, in full view of the patrons. I felt extremely afraid and very upset that this was just assumed to be ok with everyone dining there. This has gone too far and is discriminatory to people, who like me, are physically and emotionally affected by animals in my immediate presence. Unless there is a real and necessary need for a service animal, this should no longer be sanctioned. Many people are just taking their affinity for their dogs to an extreme, to the point of dismissing the feelings of others!

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    1. and I couldn’t agree more with everything you have to say. it is out of control, with people jsut assuming that it is ok to take their dog everywhere they go… more palces need to put up signs that say “service animals only”…

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      1. Yes, and when we say “service animals”, we need to really mean “service animals”! As a special educator, I champion the rights of others, who can benefit from such animals! However, the tide has turned to the point where people like me, or people, who just do not want to be in the company of other peoples’ pets, don’t even have an option! The airlines is another example of this. In order for someone to feel less anxious when flying, they can bring ANY animal on board!!! I have seen news stories about “pet” pigs, turkeys, and even mini horses!!! Has the world gone mad??? I wonder how comfortable someone would be if I brought my “service” tarantula on board? * I don’t have one, of course, but this is how outrageous things have become!!! Everyone should be considered, in a meaningful and respectful way, but also, within reason!

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  2. Firat off, I love dogs but Jim I totally agree with you on this one. I think it’s absolutely disgusting and I probably would have said something to the staff. 🐕 Also I don’t think animals should be at restaurants even if tables are seated outside. What if the dog poops?

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  3. Not appropriate. People do strange things sometimes…we were are Yellowstone park with our dog and were sitting outside on a bench when a woman holding an ice cream cone approached us and started cooing over our dog. She asked if it’s okay for the dog to lick ice cream and let her lick some of her ice cream. We assumed that the woman was done with it, but no, she walked away and continued licking the same ice cream cone that our dog just licked. We were stunned…

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  4. It seems that pets are the new kids. I don’t think it is appropriate to bring dogs into restaurants at all. Or to let dogs lick plates or forks or anything else that belongs to the restaurant. And what about fleas or as mentioned above the need for the dog to pee or poo. Or what if the dog becomes startled and acts out as some dogs do.

    I had a dog, which I loved like a dog, and I never imposed him on anyone. Never brought him to restaurants or even assumed that I could bring him to the homes of my friends or family. I certainly didn’t treat him like I treated my kid, although sometimes my kid said I spoke nicer to the dog. Then I would tell him that it was because the dog listened.

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    1. many people are far beyond reasonable in terms of how they think their pets should be treated. I would never think to bring my dog to someone else’s house, unless they told me it was ok in advance. (which has never happened, and I would never ask for it to happen).

      and yes, dogs are sometimes better behaved than children 🙂

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  6. I would have irately told that lady to get the fork out of there. She should do what my wife does. My wife chews up the food, then spits it out for our dogs to lick off the floor. This keeps our tile clean and sanitary. Then we let the dogs lick our plates before we put them away in the cupboard. But we lick our own silverware clean. We’d never let a dog do that. That’s disgusting and inappropriate.

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    1. great opening line 🙂

      and I like how you keep your floors clean, we might have to try that.

      maybe you could get a job at a restaurant cleaning their silverware, letting the owners know how much they would be saving in soap and water…

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  7. In Paris I remember seeing dogs with their owners in restaurants indoors. Sometimes owners would share their food with them. It was startling. I wonder about the way bars wash their glasses by just dipping them briefly in soapy water. I think human germs are as bad as dog germs.

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    1. we saw the same thing in London, but over there it seemed to be just the way things were done, and it didn’t bother me as much for some reason.

      I’ve also wondered about the way glasses are cleaned at bars; it doesn’t seem to be the most hygienic way to clean them…

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  10. I guess I am the weirdo here. Surprise! Although I think the behavior you described is inappropriate and unconscionable, I do not find it disgusting. I assume there are worse things that could happen to that fork before it hits my table. That being said, the penchant for taking our pets everywhere has become a little over the top. Luckily, I have my service giraffe to keep me calm!

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  11. my friend works for a major airline and has had to contend with all kinds of what people were calling their service animals. they finally went back to cats and dogs, with paperwork as real service animals, only after people brought on a peacock and mini-pony.

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      1. They really need to go waaay back, to when animals were in a cargo section. Having both asthma, and anxiety when flying, is a difficult enough situation to navigate, THEN, having animals in the plane where people sit, is even more frightening for me!!! Why do we have such urgency to refrain from eating peanuts (to protect people, who suffer from food allergies), but absolutely NO regard, for people, who suffer from animal allergies??? Not breathing is a VERY SERIOUS issue!!!! ☹️🥹

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      2. you make a lot of valid points, and that must be quite worrisome to see animals on a plane when you have allergies. perhaps they should have special flights for people who may need to have an animal on board with them…

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  13. I try to not think about what happens to my food and cooking utensils back in the kitchen of restaurants. If I did, I probably wouldn’t eat at restaurants anymore! You just never know.
    But with that said, yes, its one thing if the lady wants to do that at her house. Quite another to do at a public place!
    And I do agree that the “service animals ” thing has got out of hand!! Maybe I can start taking Betsy anywhere. 🙂

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    1. good point; I don’t want to think about what goes on in the back of a restaurant. But a customer shouldn’t be so unaware that she thinks it is ok to let her dog eat off her fork.

      and same here about the service animals…

      If you have the cowbell, you could make Betsy diappear if anyone got upset with her beingout in public 🙂

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  15. I don’t particularly like dogs, and I don’t let my cats on counters or dining tables. None of us ever feeds the cats people food. What we do allow is for the cats to use our dishes as food bowls. What is a cat food bowl this week might be my cereal bowl next week. My son is the only one who ever voiced opposition to this practice, but I guess he’s gotten over it because it never comes up anymore. So I guess I don’t find what you witnessed disgusting. I do think bringing your dog to what is essentially a restaurant dining room to be of pretty bad taste though. I say if you’re going out to eat, leave your dog at home.

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    1. I am ok with you doing what you do with your cats, in your home, and with your family. But I’m not sure I’d want to eat out of one of those bowls though, knowing that your cat used it..

      and yes, people should keep their dog at home if they go out to eat…

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    1. whie I would prefer that people not bring their dog into a restaurant, if it is outside, it doesn’t bother me too much. and if the owners want to throw a couple scraps of food under the table while they are eating, I guess I’d be ok with it. But ultiamtely, I’d prefer the dogs weren’t there at all…

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  17. Yeah, as someone with a dog, I think it’s bad form to impose your pet onto others. Another example is letting the dogs sit on the chairs (unless it’s a pet-friendly place) or tables. We wouldn’t put our own shoes on the tables, right? But why is it okay for your pet’s feet to be on the tables?

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      1. Heh heh … well, probably not me, for we currently only have cats, no dogs. But overall, I like critters better than most people and I am not bothered in the least by someone letting one eat from their fork or spoon. 😊

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      7. Jim, after I commented on your disgusting dogs post, for some reason I started getting alerts on all the activity on that post. No wonder you don’t have time to blog. Entirely too much chatter, and lasting for days. I feel for you, man.

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  21. People do some disgusting things but they takes the cake! I also don’t understand this shift in society where people think it’s ok to take their dogs everywhere. Some people are allergic, some of us are afraid of dogs. Yet they’re everywhere and now they’re eating off forks in restaurants. Of course, I am a little relieved that she put the fork down and didn’t continue eating with it! 🙂

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  25. The world has gone mad and feels so entitled everywhere. How about airplanes where people would bring therapy cow if they’re allowed. No regard for people with allergies. You’re opening cans here Jim 🙂

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