Citing a “significant increase in hygiene-related issues,” the Royalmount mall will no longer allow dogs in the building as owners are not picking up after them. The mall posted on social media that dogs would have to wait outside or in owners’ vehicles, “particularly due to repeated situations where animal waste was not picked up, sometimes in conditions that made it difficult, or even impossible, for our teams to clean it properly.” “At Royalmount, we’ve always loved welcoming dogs as part of our community,” the post begins, before detailing why that position has changed. “These situations have had a direct impact on the cleanliness of premises and on the hygiene standards that are essential to everyone’s well-being.” On the Royalmount Instagram page, it says the decision may not be permanent and that management “will continue to assess the situation in order to maintain the best possible environment for our community.” Assistance dogs are still welcome. The mall says that measures were considered and implemented, but the problems persisted, and that staff “are sincerely sorry to have to resort to this measure.” Comments on the post range from those in favour of the decision to those disappointed in some owners ruining the situation for those who cleaned up after their pets. “It’s really unfortunate that some people don’t know how to live and ruined it for the rest of us,” wrote one commenter. “However, I do believe that having little stations with sprays and Scott towel could have avoided some of these situations. Dog owners should at the very least be carrying poop bags but if their dogs pee, they have no way of picking it up so perhaps offering these tools would have helped make it more of a dog-friendly environment and encourage owners to clean up after themselves because they wouldn’t have an excuse.”
