To the Editor:
I am totally against this enforcement by Publix, especially for those of us that have gotten their dogs ESA certified. I know ESA is not the same as a service dog, but my dog is trained and is well behaved and is labeled as an ESA dog. The problem comes in with other people just bringing their regular pets in that don’t need to bring them in. I know this is Florida and they don’t want to leave them in the car. Well there’s a big difference between that and somebody like myself that really needs to have my dog with me for emotional support. I think Publix needs to re-evaluate their policy and allow ESA dogs that are labeled and have a noted collar on but other dogs could be banned. I don’t see what the big deal is. My dog walks on the ground. He doesn’t touch the food. I don’t know where people are getting a problem from. Do these people not have pets at home? It’s the same thing. I have stopped shopping at Publix because of this.
Kim VanArsdall