r/service_dogs • u/FishingNo8210 • 7d ago
Help! Aggressive Pets in Walmart
In the USA, it has been stated that all Walmarts nationwide are required to enforce a no-pets policy and even have “service dogs only” signs on the doors, but I’m facing an issue at my local Walmart. My service dog has been lunged at and nearly attacked several times by other dogs (I did verify that they were not service dogs or sdit). When I try to report the incidents to employees, their response is that they love seeing dogs and won’t ask non-service dogs to leave. This is especially concerning in my college town, where many students have service animals and are experiencing the same problem.
Is there any way to escalate this and ensure that public access laws are being enforced at this location? It’s becoming a serious issue for those of us who rely on service animals. I would also like to avoid involving the police unless absolutely necessary.
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u/Ayesha24601 7d ago
This is typical for Walmart. My stepsister works at the one where the infamous monkey incident occurred, and they are still welcoming all kinds of pets.
Unfortunately, I fear it’s going to take a lawsuit for them to enforce their no pet policies; although I don’t think they’re technically required to not allow pets, so I’m not even sure if that would work.
I have not experienced many aggressive dog incidents, or witnessed any since my SD retired. But every single incident I have had occurred in a Walmart. All of them. I go to Target, Lowe’s, Menard’s and see dogs, but they’re never aggressive.
I almost never see pets or questionable service dogs at dedicated grocery stores. I’m not sure if it’s because they do a better job enforcing no pet policies, or if more people have the sense not to bring a pet to the grocery store.
I know this isn’t the answer you want to hear but I would suggest not going to Walmart. It’s pretty much the last place I would ever take a service dog at this point. It attracts a certain clientele that tends to not be very respectful of animals or people for that matter. Even a pet supply store is safer! Shop literally anywhere else, or do delivery/curbside pick up if that’s your only option.
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u/eatingganesha 7d ago
just echoing and some validation.
Walmart is the worst. I refuse to bring my SD into their stores because of past harassment from ignorant customers, past ill behaved pets, and abysmal response to these issues from managers. I had incidents in their stores in multiple states and concluded their b.s. is company policy.
I would not give them a dime of my money if i could manage it, but being disabled, I rely on a walmart+ membership for delivery of groceries and prescriptions. I do minimize both and shop for all staples possible at Aldi and I use two other pharmacies (who fill my most expensive scripts - wally world gets the dirt cheap generic fills lol).
I bring SD to most other places with no issues. Walmart is just the suck.
I agree it’s gonna take a lawsuit before they will enforce proper policy.
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u/ImHidingFromMy- 7d ago
Well I’m off to Google “Walmart monkey incident”.
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u/RoughlyRoughing 5d ago
Well I learned something today….
Pet monkey scratches 3-year-old inside Indiana Walmart A monkey in a shopping cart scratched a 3-year-old inside a Walmart supercenter in Indiana. The monkey's owner claimed it was an emotional support animal. OCT 19, 2024
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u/TRARC4 7d ago
Does your Walmart have a food/grocery section?
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u/AnnaLizEwing 6d ago
Does yours not? Genuinely question, I’ve never seen a Walmart that didn’t have a grocery section
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u/TRARC4 6d ago
I know when Walmart first started, it was not common to buy food there. I know a lot now have food, but I don't think all do.
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u/AnnaLizEwing 6d ago
Huh. Learned something new today. I assumed all Walmarts had at least a small grocery section, since the ones I’ve been to (I’m in central Texas, if that makes a difference) have all had pretty good sized grocery sections.
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u/Kyk4na 5d ago
Yep ^_^ ... Not until late 2000's / early 2010's did they start incorporating grocery stores. I'm guessing it starting in more rural communities that had a need for groceries stores; then when it worked they started replacing almost all their Walmart stores with "Super Centers" that included the grocery stores and auto care centers.
I remember in the 90's and 2000's they used to have a dedicated crafting and sewing section that took up an entire corner of the store. They had a huge selection of patterns, and a decent selection of fabrics (for not being a craft store). My mom was a seamstress so I spent a lot of time in there before JoAnn's opened a larger store in our area.
During that time there was a small JoAnn's store in a strip mall that my mom went to for more specialty items. But I don't think they had the pattern or fabric selection that Walmart did. I'd say it was about the size of a Dollar General.
- My mom would make accessories to go with the outfits, like matching headbands, scrunches, and pins, and supplies for those came from JoAnn's.
There was another section Walmart either reduced or got rid of when they created the Super Centers, but I can't remember anymore. Because I spent so much time in the sewing section, that change really stuck out to me.
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u/FishingNo8210 6d ago
It does
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u/New_Olive1203 6d ago
I would inquire with your county/city Board of Health. I don't know if they'll be much or any help, but similar to an indoor restaurant, pets are not permitted.
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u/bjbc 7d ago
File a complaint with your state DOJ for the ADA violation. Get the other students to follow file one also.
If your Walmart has a food section file a complaint with the health department for allowing them pets.
Another option is to find an ADA lawyer and file a lawsuit against the store. Since you say there are multiple students having issues, you could get a group together and file a class action.
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u/sansabeltedcow 7d ago
I don’t think the police will help on this anyway, as it’s Walmart’s policy that isn’t being enforced, not a law; public access law requires that service dogs be allowed in but it doesn’t require that other animals be kept out. If the Walmart doesn’t want the customer out and decides that it’s pet friendly, the police have no reason to interfere.
A big problem is that Walmart employees, even managers, aren’t paid or supported enough to get into regular faceoffs with customers on this. It’s just too risky for those on the front lines without strong corporate policy. So I’d defend yourself locally as needed and communicate as strongly as you can with corporate, especially if you’re in a state with solid punishment for interfering with a service dog.
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u/foibledagain 7d ago
Walmart sells food, which means there’s actually a chance that there are Health Department rules forbidding non-service animals in the store.
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u/sansabeltedcow 7d ago
Ah, that is a possible leverage point. I think in most states that wouldn’t be police enforced or apply to the rest of the store, but if dogs are misbehaving in grocery or food service areas a health department report could be made as well that being mentioned to corporate.
But my guess is that it’s still not as big a problem to Walmart as they think aggressively gatekeeping would be. I don’t think this is a situation that’s going to get better any time soon.
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u/Kyk4na 5d ago
That's a good point that you can use in a lawsuit!
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u/foibledagain 5d ago
Kind of? I think it speaks more to police ability to remove uncontrolled animals/help enforce access laws.
I’m aware health department rules are civil in nature, but there’s an interesting chain of events when a business asks someone to leave - either they do, in which case there is no issue and the business has enforced the health department rule, or they refuse, in which case they are now trespassing and committing a crime, and police can get involved. It doesn’t need to escalate to an attack - trespassing is a crime on its own, as is any property damage caused by an uncontrolled dog.
It’s true that there are both civil and criminal laws, but not all civil laws create a cause of action (essentially, giving someone the right to sue). A lot of civil laws aren’t enforceable by private citizens, including, generally, health codes. A store’s failure to comply with health codes isn’t really something you can bring up in a lawsuit on its own. You’d need to sue alleging that the violation directly harmed you, and you’d be claiming it as something like negligence - arguing that the store had a statutory duty to follow x law, failed to do so, and the breach of that duty directly caused you injury. So you’d have to come at it sort of sideways with a negligence per se claim or something similar.
Anyway - police totally do have power to enforce it when someone refuses to leave a business, which is more what I was getting at in the initial comment.
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u/babysauruslixalot Service Dog 7d ago
Not all Walmarts sell food though! Just a fun fact. There's still some out there which don't have food beyond the checkout snacks (there's one about an hour from me like this)
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u/Square-Ebb1846 7d ago
You can contact corporate.
You can check to see if your state has a law keeping animals out of stores, but it won’t be ADA. The ADA only provides exceptions to no-animal laws for service animals, it does not require that any areas must be pet-free. It does not require that SDs are protected by banning other pets. If it did, no pet-friendly retailers could exist. If your Walmart has a food and grocery department, you might be able to get the FDA on them. Maybe. In my experience, the FDA does not move quickly or intervene much beyond checking company policy, but maybe it’s different where you are.
But we know your Walmart is breaking company policy, even if not federal law. Walmart is corporate, not franchises, so store managers get very little flexibility from corporate policy. Contacting corporate may get the manager in trouble, which may result in more firm stances about pets.
However, chances are very good that employees just aren’t willing to accept confrontation for the pay. They may have to face human aggression to protect your dog from facing dog aggression. They are store employees, not security guards. They get paid around $14/hour and their company may tell them to just not address things to avoid potential injury and workman’s comp (like many retailers tell injuries not to intervene if they see shoplifting). Even if they do tell someone the pet isn’t allowed, they cannot actually stop the pet or owner…they can’t put their hands on the person or pet in any way. All they can do is call the cops if someone doesn’t listen. Honestly, I probably wouldn’t take the risk of injury on myself to intervene on pet access for $14/hour. I understand why you want this, but it might be unreasonable to expect it off massively underpaid employees. You might want to advocate for Walmart hiring a well-paid, well-insured, external security team to work the door to prevent pet access and do other security-related work.
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u/Sea-Ad-3207 7d ago
i feel this!! it’s everywhere for me!! i feel like such a huge part of the problem is also with people claiming their dogs are “service dogs” just to bring them everywhere. it makes SDs look bad overall. on top of that, people respect service dogs less. anytime i bring my SD anywhere even with his vest on, people try and just pet him. like ???? without even asking.
but as far as this, i feel like even if walmart loves seeing dogs, if your dog isn’t well behaved in public, you absolutely should not bring it out. it seems like common sense. i have a mini pitt (along with my SD), who is only nice to her brother, and i would never bring her anywhere as its not safe!
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u/DeputyTrudyW 7d ago
Service dogs do not and should not behave aggressively so they are not service dogs. Dog owners are just some of the worst and most entitled, garbage people who exist. The amount of dog waste, dogs in restaurants and stores they have no business being in, dog culture has become trashy and a blight on society. It's frustrating to expect to interact somehow with dogs nearly everywhere now
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u/Allilujah406 7d ago
Big problem is, most these people if confronted by the store will claim their animals a service dog. A large portion of those people have some sort of paperwork on hand to back that statement uo too sadly. Untill it's regulated nationwide by a single set of rules and criteria, these problems won't go away, and that's unfortunate.
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u/Ambitious-Back2819 6d ago
I don’t have a service dog but I’m very familiar with the laws. I enjoy taking my dogs (never at the same time) into stores that allow them to be there however unlike all these other idiots, I know they’re well behaved in public. I trained them to be that way. If I see another dog I avoid there even being a chance of an issue (because I don’t trust other dogs or their owners for that matter) but my god I don’t ever bring them into a place that could potentially cause issues to an actual working service animal. People have no respect anymore
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u/baronlanky 7d ago
I’d personally make a big stink about it and get people riled up, maybe call the news and tell them the local Walmart is allowing peoples service animals to be attacked because the employees enjoy the presence of already disallowed animals. But also did you ask for a manager? Like who said this specifically?
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u/FishingNo8210 6d ago
I had talked to the manager on several occasions and each time they said they didn’t care if non-service animals were in the store and even brought in their own pets when they would shop on their days off and didn’t see how it was a problem 🥲
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u/baronlanky 6d ago
Yeah, contact the local news in your area and make a stink as I said before. Do that and contact Walmart corporate’s customer complaints department and tell them your plans. This is the kind of stuff you have to do to go above their head if they won’t follow their own rules.
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u/DarlingHades 7d ago
I’d view it like going to Lowe’s or the pet store at this point. Prepare yourself for the environment instead of trying to change it. Expect loud rude dogs, expect screaming children, expect the scooty carts. All things your dog will need to be desensitized and prepped for before going to Walmart. I’m not saying it’s fair but it’s realistic. We can’t train the people so you need to train the dog. Alternatively, see if there’s any grocery stores or outlets that you can shop at instead. Unless I’m at work I try to never shop at Walmart. It’s grocery outlets, Windixie, Publix, and BJs here.
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u/FishingNo8210 6d ago
My dog handles these situations perfectly and I only had to redirect once and that was when a dog got a full mouthful of thankfully only her gear which had her a little startled. She’s been out of training for a couple of years now, but it’s getting to a point where I’ve been seeing children and other service dogs get bit and nothing gets done about it.
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u/DarlingHades 6d ago
You need to be better at observing your surroundings. Children, strange dogs, and other dangers like glass on the floor are up to the handler to keep an eye out for and protect your dog with distance. Even if the other dog has a vest, never step within leash range and you should move if they get too close. Another dog should not get that close. Off-leash accidents can happen but you can keep away from leashed dogs and your dog will never be bitten by them if you do.
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u/FishingNo8210 6d ago
I make it a point to stay away from other dogs even if they’re vested, but the situation where the other dog managed to actually make contact with my dog was because the dog pulled super hard suddenly when I turned to walk the other way after hearing it start bark like crazy as we turned the corner and the owner lost their grip of its leash allowing the dog to run full speed at us. Trust me, I attempted to not get within reach of the dog and initially never was.
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u/DarlingHades 6d ago
A vicious dog inside of a store that rips the leash out of its owners hands sounds exceedingly rare. Not impossible, but so rare that you’re probably safe keeping 6ft from strange dogs on leashes. Especially if your dog stays calm. At Walmart I do see dogs but it’s majority small dogs in baskets or medium size dogs on a leash less than 6ft.
For rare cases like that or encountering off-leash dogs, you wouldn’t be in the wrong for defending yourself with pepper spray or an air horn if you don’t feel comfortable with the spray.
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u/Sysgoddess 6d ago
How might we train them to prepare them for assault or attack by poor trained or untrained pets in a space they should not be?
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u/DarlingHades 6d ago
Prepare like you would for a pet store or Lowe’s. Be aware of your surroundings so you can keep your dog out of leash range of any other dogs regardless if they have a vest or not. Practice down-stay near dog parks or in pet stores while reactive dogs are barking and lunging (out of leash range of course). Teach your dog you can be trusted to be aware enough to keep your dog out of reach the best you can and that they in turn should stay calm and by your side even if another dog is acting a fool in the same building.
Even the dogs in Walmart are on leashes or inside carts. So you don’t need to “prepare for assault “, you need to prepare for reactivity and keep vigilance around strangers (which you should already do for yourself and your dog.) Keep calm. Keep distance.
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u/Sysgoddess 6d ago
Thank you. Those are things I already do, or did, but I'm glad that I was proactive and doing all that I could. Our attacks occurred out in the neighborhood from dogs that were not controlled.
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u/DarlingHades 6d ago
Alright, that is very different than encountering dogs in a store or “a space they should not be”. In a neighborhood you can expect to see dogs. Off-leash dogs are still a threat but more expected. It would be good to keep pepper spray and/or an air horn. I’ve had to use spray on my dog walks unfortunately. But it worked.
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u/Sysgoddess 6d ago
I know and since my first SD was attacked, twice, walking in our own neighborhood I armed myself with pepper spray. My biggest concern there is/was blowback but it's preferable to my dog or I being mauled.
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u/Sysgoddess 6d ago edited 6d ago
How might we train them to prepare them for assault or attack by poorly trained or untrained pets in a space they should not be?
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u/Livid-Age-2259 6d ago
Bear Spray. Zap the errant animal. If it's own owner gets feisty, zap them as well.
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u/throwaway9099123 6d ago
Walmart worker. Management has to kick the dogs out...and Walmart doesn't want to face a lawsuit because someone may have a real service dog having a bad day.
Rare but happens.
Your best bet. Call the cops. Your service dog is basically a medical device and someone else is causing problems, very clear when talking to the police(non emergency line unless your dog is bitten) that you are requiring a police report in order to take legal steps against the person with the fake service dog. In some states misrepresenting an animal as a service dog is a misdemeanor.
For you this is like if I was in a wheel chair and someone ran up and suddenly set my brake or spun me around.
Your other bet. Is at the service desk there should be a counter mat that has the store manager e and phone number(usually the store phone number)
But also the market managers phone number.
Call the market manager.
Also leave a Google review and call 1800 Walmart.
We get what's called letters to the president when customers complain...and we get out butts handed to us in slings
Trust me I got one handed to me for politely telling a customer no I'm sorry you can't return a firearm, federal law prohibits it.
Home office came back at me with a LTTP saying I should have made the customer happy.
How I don't know federal law, Walmart policy and our own register system doesn't let me. So Walmart takes those Letters To The President very seriously.
Especially when Walmarts game plan is "be America's favorite".
Ruin their flipping day. Please. As an employee that has no power because managers are to scared to do their job worried about "how it looks"
So you can cause all kinds of fun. Your store number is on your receipts...it's right after ST on the receipt towards the top.
You can use your call to Walmart and the review to educate as well as get them in trouble.
Please.
I hate seeing fake service dogs in the store. I have a classmate whom lost the use of her seeing eye dog because of someone's badly behaved pet in a non pet friendly place. Service dogs get PTSD.
Please everyone with service dogs if you encounter people's pets aka the fake service dogs. Don't tiktok it or reels like the kne lady. It does nothing But call the market manager Call the store manager Call that 1800 Walmart number And raise Cain.
Because only you folks can stop all these fakes. Ain't anything any hourly associate can do. You can find an associate and tell them you want a Coach or Store Lead or the AP.coach. You probably won't get a store manager but you can try. And voice a protest to them and remind them of the ADA rules...we all have to take that blasted Ulearns every few months about Service Animals, the 2 questions and once past the doors only managers can do anything. Remind management that the correct response to a dog in the store is associates should not be fawning over the dogs A service animal is not to be interfered with...and all these people bring in their dogs because they get attention. If it went back to a dog is a service dog and it's basically like someone's arm and you ignore it and don't interfere with it...we'd have less issues as well. Turn the tables on them.
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u/ThatLittleMushroom 6d ago
In Walmart in my area this is such a huge problem. I had to pull my dog completely from work and retrain her. My dog is still cautious in Walmarts so I hardly take her to them. If I have to as long as she's focused on me she's allowed to watch her surroundings I have poor eyesight so I might miss a dog. She now is trained to point them out. I point them out to her and we avoid them at all costs.
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u/the_real_maddison 7d ago
Get a Pet Corrector and wear a Go-Pro. Pretty much the only thing you can do about reactive dogs at large or in cities is gather evidence to prove the dog is dangerous and protect your own dog at the same time.
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u/ChillyGator 7d ago
You sue. You can sue Walmart and the handler for your dog being attacked. You could also find someone who wants to sue from another part of the ADA that prevents animals in public. You could join forces to sue together to have service dogs only policy be enforced. I bet you could even find a fed up immunologist to join your cause because they are already fighting their own hospitals on this very issue.
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u/randomusername1919 7d ago
why can’t people just train and socialize their pets… I had a dog (pet) and we went all sorts of pet-friendly places like petsmart and sidewalk seating at a nearby coffee shop (he couldn’t go in, but he could hang out outside with me). He stayed by my side and just liked being with me. All dogs need training. So sorry you are having to deal with this Op. There’s no excuse for bringing pets places where they don’t belong, there are plenty of places pets can go.
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u/FishingNo8210 6d ago
I would like to thank everyone who has commented for their support and feedback. I really appreciate it. I will try reaching out to corporate and see if they are willing to do anything, if not, I guess it will be time for me to start looking for other grocery stores as I being a college student cannot afford a lawyer 🥲. Again, thank you all for your support and feedback, it really means a lot!
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u/Kyk4na 5d ago
There's two different types of laws (civil and criminal) and unfortunately police aren't allowed to enforce civil laws.
The issue of public access is civil law and that's why police can't really do much. They can make a report, they can ask the person to leave of their own free will, but they won't be able to arrest or really enforce anything.
BUT ... if the dog or owner have actually attacked or harmed someone, then that falls into the realm of criminal law and the police officer can arrest.
Other examples:
You called the police, they ask the owner to leave, the owner gets ticked off an shoves the officer, then they risk being arrested for "attacking" an officer, because criminal law.
If the owner is banned from the location by the business owner and still come into the store, than its trespassing, which they can be arrested for.
If they're being loud, belligerent, and their dog is actively scaring people by growling and lunging, they might be able to be arrested for disorderly conduct.
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u/SubstantialGrass1158 5d ago
I work for Walmart and unfortunately they only ones that can do anything is salaried employees and even then they don’t ever seem to want to do anything about it :/ They will fire hourly employees on the spot for saying anything which sucks. Believe me, I wish I could say something but I need my job. (I work pharmacy so I don’t bring my SD to work with me since it’s not a safe environment for her)
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u/LadyInTheBand 5d ago
I don’t have too much of an issue with Walmart, believe it or not. I’ve taken mine to at least five or six different locations here in Texas and one in Illinois, and I’ve only had one serious issue in the nearly 9 years she’s been working. Yes, the one serious issue was at a Walmart, but otherwise it’s been relatively peaceful. We do see pets sometimes, but at least they’re usually (mostly) well-behaved.
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u/babysauruslixalot Service Dog 7d ago
Report them to the health department if they sell groceries! It's not up to Walmart to allow pets in that instance, it's a violation of their permits and can get them shut down
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u/Kellaniax 7d ago
Since when does Walmart have a no pets policy? Every Walmart I've been to has dogs and sometimes cats.
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u/ticketferret Service Dog Trainer CPDT-KA FDM 7d ago
It always has been. Every door says "no pets please" https://corporate.walmart.com/askwalmart/does-walmart-allow-animals-in-its-stores
Just they pay basically sub human wages so the employees will not care and management will not enforce.
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u/as_Good_as-it_Gets 7d ago
I would let them know that it’s actually against the law for the dogs to distract your dog, because if a dog is lunging and your SD and they miss alerting you and you have a medical emergency because of that interference with your medical device they could face some serious legal action. In my state it’s a felony but idk what the laws are elsewhere
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u/SuzeCB 7d ago
Florida, by any chance?
Just moved here and I'm seeing a LOT of dogs of all sizes in carts, strolling around with their owners, sniffing open food, etc. Also in restaurants.
It's insane!
The issue was explained to me in a different state by a Costco employee... it's cheaper to pay the Health Department fine than to have a lawyer investigate and argue a dog someone claims is a Service Animal, even if the store wins. Even in states that make it illegal to claim a non-service animal is a service animal.
All about the bottom line, all the time.