Editor:
Re: Ms. Tschoban letter of August 16th
I am quite sure that our government would not have legislated that guide and assistance dogs must be granted access to all public venues if they felt there was any threat to public health or safety from a canine presence. There could be several dogs in that capacity at any public event you choose to attend.
Many hotels from coast-to-coast welcome or even encourage guests to bring their pets and even offer special services for the four-legged resident. I am quite sure that they would not do so if it was harmful to the health, safety or enjoyment of guests or damaged their profit margin.
I must object to Ms. Tschoban's statement that, "a dog ran around the place like it was in a park."
I was present throughout the open house and saw no such behavior nor did a number of people I've talked to since. Several people at the opening commented to me about how quiet and well behaved the dog was.
Many of our guests are visiting the Coast by car and are accompanied by their dog. You cannot leave a dog enclosed in a car in the summer heat. Rather than have a dog or several dogs tied to a tree or post and perhaps causing a problem with sidewalk traffic we prefer they come in as long as they are leashed, under the supervision of their owner and are well behaved. This has been our policy for 10 years and has worked well.
The only negative incident I was aware of on Saturday was a highly inappropriate remark made by one guest to another. I can only wish that that person had behaved in as correct and gentlemanly a manner as the dog.
Paul Clancy
President/GPAG
