DOGS HAVE THEIR WAY.

Byline: Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard

When Missy Peterson goes shopping for outdoor gear at REI in Eugene, she brings along her dog, Basil.

"It's just nice having your pet with you," says Peterson, 38. "You're shopping with your pal. ... We've even tried on clothes in the dressing room."

REI is one of several local retailers that allow leashed dogs inside. Eugene is still a far cry from parts of Europe, where canines are welcome just about everywhere humans are, but there do appear to be more places here that accept four-footed customers.

For some businesses, it's a way of appealing to dog lovers, while others reluctantly allow pooches inside to prevent them from being neglected in the parking lot.

`We do and we don't (allow dogs),' says Joe Powell, assistant store manager at Jerry's Home Improvement Center in Eugene. `We are dog-friendly, but we have little signs that say, `No dogs allowed.' '

Jerry's may not wish to encourage dogs in its stores, but during summer months the fact that it does comes as welcome news to pet owners such as Peterson, who wouldn't think of locking her 8-year-old German shepherd-mix in a hot car, but also doesn't want to leave her pooch at home while running errands.

`Basil gets lots of invitations to come in (to stores),' says Peterson, who has shopped for insurance with her dog and roamed the aisles of a local drugstore. She used to frequent a dog-friendly coffee shop in Roseburg.

"You want to go to those places more if they let you bring your pet in because they're nice folks."

A few of the other Eugene retailers that allow canines include McKenzie Outfitters, Down to Earth, Coastal Farm Supply, Deluxe clothing store, the Clothes Horse and Home Depot, which also has a `no dogs' sign on the door. Even if they don't officially sanction it, most local pet stores and hardware stores will welcome dogs on leashes. The Old Pad used to allow dogs on its back deck until some customers complained and managers discontinued the policy.

At REI, being dog-friendly is as much a practical measure as it is one of customer service, store manager Jen Cline says. The outdoor supplier carries backpacks with drinking water reservoirs for dogs, canine hiking booties to protect footpads and a doggie tent called - what else? - the Pup Tent.

"Occasionally we'll have an accident with a puppy, or someone has found something with a good smell on it and they're lifting a leg," Cline said. "Most of our pet owners are pretty responsible."

There are a few general rules for pet owners at places such as REI. Most dog-friendly businesses require leashes and reserve the right to 86 your pooch if he is, say, barking uncontrollably in the housewares section or tearing apart a $400 Gore-Tex jacket.

"I do it on a case-by-case basis," says Dagua Nelson, owner of Deluxe fashion shop on Willamette Street. "I let people bring their dogs in when it seems as if they'd like to shop and it seems as if their dog is going to be polite."

Most of the laws governing where dogs cannot go deal with restaurants (and anywhere else where food is served), which are regulated by the county's Environmental Health Department, and grocery stores, which are overseen by the state Department of Agriculture.

"Probably it isn't a good idea to allow a dog in any area of a restaurant," explains environmental health specialist Scott Kruger, who says cross-contamination is the main reason dogs are not welcome in restaurants and grocery stores.

The coffee shop Peterson visited in Roseburg was probably breaking the health code by letting dogs inside its doors. The same rules do not apply to service animals, which are used for everything from guiding the blind to protecting those who are prone to seizures. These animals are allowed in almost all public spaces under the Americans With Disabilities Act. Law enforcement dogs are also exempt from most regulations.

As long as food is not being prepared or served, there are very few rules governing dogs in commercial spaces. Some administrative offices have even taken to allowing employees to bring their pets to work. At Oregon Research Institute in Eugene, pets are allowed in the Franklin Boulevard building. About a dozen employees, including Peterson, who works there as a data analyst, take advantage of the policy. Media services manager Ramona McCoy brings her 11-year-old Australian shepherd, Clem, to work.

"Just this year, Clem had surgery," McCoy says. "I couldn't leave him at home. It's nice to have that option and be able to bring him in."

Byron Glidden, the human resources director at ORI, says there have been few problems with the pet policy. Animals must be leashed or in pet carriers when not in closed offices, and pet owners must clean up after their dogs.

The policy grew out of an employee survey administered in 1997.

`It's consistent with the general culture at ORI, which is, let's make this as pleasant a (place to work) as we can,' Glidden says.

While many dog lovers are encouraged by the presence of dog-friendly employers and dog-friendly businesses, some say canines shouldn't be given too long a leash.

Nelson, the owner of Deluxe, has some concerns about the safety of her customers, and Peterson says she recognizes the fact that not everyone is a dog person.

The key to making dogs more socially acceptable, trainer TR Pagel says, is good training.

`You can't take your (untrained) dog into a business without it being the equivalent of a bull in a china shop,' says Pagel, owner of Diamond Dogs Training. "That's why some businesses don't like dogs.

"Dogs who are properly trained, it's easy to take them places," she says.

"It's more fun to have them with you. That's why you have a dog, is to be part of your life."

SERVICE ANIMALS IN PLACES OF BUSINESS

Definition of a service animal: The Americans with Disabilities Act defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to someone with a disability. They need not be licensed or certified by a state or local government. A service animal is not a pet.

What the law says: Under ADA, privately owned businesses that serve the public, such as restaurants, hotels, retail stores, taxicabs, theaters, concert halls and sports facilities, are prohibited from discriminating against people with disabilities. ADA requires these businesses to allow the disabled to bring their service animals onto business premises in whatever areas customers are generally allowed.

How can I tell if an animal is really a service animal?: Some, but not all, service animals wear special collars and harnesses. Some are licensed or certified and have identification papers. You may ask the person who has the animal if it is a service animal. However, a person going to a restaurant or theater is not likely to be carrying documentation of his medical condition or disability. You may not insist on proof of state certification before permitting the service animal to accompany the person with a disability.

More information: Call the ADA information line at [phone] (voice) or [phone] (TDD).

- U.S. Department of Justice

CAPTION(S):

Data analyst Missy Peterson works at the pet-friendly Oregon Research Institute while her dog, Basil, sleeps at her feet. Some businesses allow employees to take dogs to work. "Dogs who are properly trained, it's easy to take them places." - TR PAGEL, DOG TRAINER