Many pet parents enjoy taking their dogs out shopping with them, and some may even need to. However, it’s important to find out if a particular store allows dogs before showing up at its doors with your pooch.
Boasting over 2,200 stores in the USA, Aldi is among a few international grocery chains that do not allow dogs. Let’s find out more.
What Is Aldi’s Official Pet Policy?
Aldi has no published official pet policy. But from customer inquiries and responses from the chain’s customer care, it is clear that Aldi does not allow dogs or any other pet into the store unless it is a service animal.
Why Are Pets Prohibited in Aldi Stores?
The answer is federal requirements. In the US, any person or company dealing with human food’s processing, packaging, and distribution must meet federal requirements set in place by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
FDA’s Food Guide lays out that live animals are not permitted in food establishments, including restaurants and grocery stores, with the exception of service dogs. The reasoning behind it is dogs can pose serious health risks. Their fur and saliva harbor bacteria that may be transferred to food.
Simply put, bacteria are everywhere, but the risk of infection multiplies greatly when pathogens find a conducive environment to grow. Of course, the ideal environment is a fatty piece of meat in the freezer, cheese, milk, or vegetables. After they have multiplied, one bite from the infected food may result in sickness.
Another reason is that Aldi prides itself on cleanliness. Dogs are sometimes messy and may pose a serious challenge to store employees. So, rather than hiring extra hands to take care of the mess left behind by pets, Aldi prohibits pets in the store.
Does Aldi Allow Service Dogs?
Yes, service dogs are allowed in all Aldi stores. By definition, a service dog is an animal trained to perform tasks for disabled people. For example, it may remind a mentally disabled person to take drugs, lick on the arm of a person with PTSD to warn them about an impending panic attack, and perform basic duties such as opening and closing the door.
In a society without service dogs, disabled people would live a difficult life. That is why every public place is legally obligated to allow people with service dogs. When bringing your service dog:
- It is not mandatory to have a training certificate or any form of documentation that shows it was trained by experts.
- The dog is not required to wear anything that indicates its duties to the disabled person.
- Store employees are not allowed to delve into a person’s health status or ask discriminatory questions. Their job is to confirm that your dog is well-behaved and will not interfere with other shoppers.
- The dog must be leashed at all times unless the handler does not have the physical capability to control it. If that is the case, the dog must be obedient and able to understand voice commands.
- A rowdy service dog may be kicked out of the store if the owner fails to control it.
- The store may assign a shopping assistant to a disabled person after their respective service dog has been removed.
How Do You Get Groceries From Aldi If You Have a Dog With You?
You can still get your shopping from Aldi with your dog on you, thanks to an efficient pickup and delivery system. The store has partnered with Instacart, a company that receives and delivers customer orders. Simply download the app, place the order, and schedule deliveries. The company will receive your order and collect and deliver it all within hours.
Conclusion
Aldi does not allow customers to bring their dogs in-store in order to adhere to FDA food safety regulations. The grocery chain, however, allows customers to come with their service dogs which must be leashed at all times. Failure to meet the minimum requirements of a well-behaved service dog and store employees may be forced to remove the service animal. If that happens, a shopping assistant may be assigned to you.
Featured Photo Credit: Max Pelikan, Shutterstock
