08/25/2026
Well...with now over 40,000 reactions to our prior post, which is still completely wild, we feel this is a good opportunity to offer some insight into the subject of service animals in small businesses.
We received a few private messages from people with personal experience who offered thoughtful and helpful guidance. We appreciate them. This can be a delicate situation, and small-business owners must balance two very real responsibilities: respecting the rights of people with disabilities under the ADA and meeting health department requirements.
In Oregon, service dog handlers are not required to provide documentation, certification, or even a vest. When it isn’t obvious that a dog is a service animal, businesses are allowed to ask only two questions:
1. Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
(Which typically we will only ask the first part of this question)
2. What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
(which we are unlikely to ask once we are informed that the dog is indeed a service animal)
We will continue to reinforce these training points with our staff.
We cannot say for certain whether Haley’s dog was a service animal. In reviewing the video, however, she never said that it was. What she asked was, “How do you know my dog is not a service animal?” Ideally, her response to being asked to wait outside would have been to inform us that it was a service dog, and our response would have been, “Ok, no problem, here’s your latte, have a great day”.
But here’s the important part: whether or not the dog was a service animal, it could not be allowed to jump on a counter where food and drinks are served. Even a service dog must remain under its handler’s control, and the ADA allows a business to ask that a dog be removed if it is not controlled and kept off of and out of food handling locations. The customer must still be offered service without the dog present, which is exactly what our team lead did.
So, to the “It’s just a dog, get over it” crowd: we love dogs. We also love passing our health inspections and keeping our little coffee shop open. One of those things pays the bills.
We’re proud of our team lead. She handled an uncomfortable situation calmly, continued offering service, and is open to learning. So are we.
We have a young, eager crew who are hungry for feedback and we welcome thoughtful input from people with experience. We’re listening. Just please keep it respectful; this is about learning how to handle these situations properly, not attacking anyone.
Warmly,
Lisa & Jules
The pic is of our baby Sophie, she's gone now but her presence remains.
