Here's Costco's Policy On Bringing Pets Along On Your Shopping Trip

Now, there are plenty of dogs in Costco — hot dogs, that is. The membership-based wholesale club is known for many things: its impossibly inexpensive rotisserie chicken (Costco actually loses money on its rotisserie chicken), bulk-sized products, in-house label Kirkland line of products, and delicious $1.50 hot dogs, which are also available for bulk sale. But what about man's best friend? Does Costco allow members to bring pets along on shopping trips?

Well, no. Costco, as with most other stores selling food products, does not allow pets inside its stores. There are several reasons for this policy, including the risk of food contamination and the potential for behavioral problems within stores. And it's hard to contest these reasons. For, while many pets are very well behaved, a poorly trained pet can pose the risk of having accidents in the store, or may even get into a scuffle if confronted with other animals. Plus, many shoppers simply do not wish to run their errands in a fracas of four-legged friends. Now, there is a caveat to this policy: service animals, which are professionally trained to assist people with specific needs and disabilities.

Thanks to the Americans with Disabilities Act, or ADA for short, establishments such as Costco must allow fully trained service animals inside club locations. Service animals are not pets, but animals (usually dogs) that have been trained to assist those with disabilities to better navigate both public and private places. These include guide dogs for the visually impaired, dogs trained to detect blood sugar, seizures, and perform other necessary tasks for their owners.

Some places also allow for service animals who are not fully trained to enter retail facilities, but this isn't a universal rule, so be sure to check your state's guidance on the matter. And though Costco must allow fully trained service animals into locations, they can ask if your animal is a service animal, and what duties they have been trained to complete. So be prepared to have answers to these questions, or any relevant identification on hand.

Now, not every Costco member has been in keeping with the store's policy, it seems. In a post to the r/Costco subreddit last year, one Redditor took to the forum to point out a shopper they encountered who had their dog by their side, seemingly with no service animal identification. This spurred some outrage, with many users sharing their experiences, both as employees and as Costco members, dealing with pets in Costco. Still, another Costco member went viral for leaving their dog tied to their car in extreme heat as they shopped. Suffice it to say, sometimes it's best to just leave man's best friend at home.