So I suppose the big question is whether the Dog Museum (rather, the AKC
Museum of the Dog) in St. Louis allows dogs in the museum?

Locally, I know that Old Sturbridge Village used to be one of the few
living history museums to which you could bring your dog(s).  But due to
"incidents related to visitors' dogs," they changed the policy in 2003 and
no longer allow non-service animals into the village.

FYI, the top 10 cities considered (by Dog Travel Magazine) as "pet
friendly" are Monterey-Carmel, CA; Cape Cod-Nantucket, MA; Chicago, IL;
Seattle, WA; Key West, FL; Lake Tahoe, CA/NV; Toronto, ON, Canada; New
York, NY; Washington, DC; and San Francisco, CA.  So I suppose if you are a
museum in one of these areas, and your facility is appropriate, you might
decide to have a different policy than a place that is not using "pet
friendliness" as a tourism/cultural marketing tool.

I would say that dogs in purses don't really qualify as dogs.  A 2-pound
Yorkie or a 3-pound teacup poodle in a bag is more like an animated stuffed
animal, in terms of impact on the facility, and as long as they are not
yippy, a "no pets allowed" rule shouldn't be enforced vigorously against
them since they will not be interacting with other visitors or museum
objects.  No slur intended against toy dog owners, by the way.  I'm just
acknowledging the fact that while children (and adults) have been mauled by
pit bulls, I have never heard of a fatal attack by a Shih Tsu!

Last comment on the dog issue:  Given the heroic way in which police canine
officers, search-and-rescue, and bomb-sniffing dogs, etc. have performed
since 9/11, maybe it is time for the United States to reevaluate some of
the rules against dogs in public places in recognition of their special
abilities.

Susan
owned by one child and two dogs

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