Dogs Continue To Show Up In Places Where They Shouldn’t Be. Is Whole Foods About To Crack Down, Like Publix?
BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (Copyright © 2025 MetroDesk Media, LLC) — It’s another week of rude people bringing dogs into supermarkets and restaurants in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Boynton Beach and beyond. And it’s another week of people who believe they can park wherever — and however — they choose. But before we get started with this week’s Boca Rudeton™, a quick request: please don’t engage with the arguably crazy people who are bringing dogs where they don’t belong, or the drivers parking in bizarre ways. Consider it a “photo safari.” Document the animals (the people animals and the actual animals), but don’t get too close. In a store? If you complain to management, please document the name of the manager and what happened during the conversation. But be respectful. Now, on with the show:
We start this week at Lefke’s in Delray Beach. That’s a Mediterranean restaurant at 33 SE 3rd Avenue. We find this woman with her dog. Our tipsters are appalled that the woman had time to put on a huge bracelet but didn’t have time to put her animal in a place where the animal belongs — pretty much anywhere other than a restaurant where people are eating dinner.
We move on to the huge Target at Hillsboro and Powerline. The tipster wants to know why these women have dogs in the store. We do, too. Dogs are not supposed to be in places where food is sold.
Now to the new Whole Foods in Boca Raton where there continues to be a dog problem, and new management seems to not understand that animals are not permitted, unless they are trained service animals. Publix gets it. The new Whole Foods staff apparently does not. (Sources say corporate may be about to crack down — we’ll see). That’s where the woman seen above brought her “Emotional Support Animal” into the store and later claimed in several texts to BocaNewsNow.com that she had no idea ESA’s aren’t allowed. We are publishing Publix’s sign, below, so there’s no question moving forward. It applies to all supermarkets in Florida. ESA’s are not real service animals. Dogs don’t belong in supermarkets. You can use home delivery or curbside pickup if you need a pet to go shopping. Legitimate service animals, of course, are welcome.
Let’s move onto parking… and we start with the Lexus with Florida plate 4CFS. Our tipster says this elitist individual — or just poor driver — decided it was okay to use two spaces at Woodfield Country Club. It’s not.
Now to the postal “store” at North Dixie Center in Boca Raton. That’s where our tipster says the person in the orange SUV said it was okay to double park because she had a lot of boxes to unload. Our tipster says she didn’t know about the Florida law that says it’s okay to double park if you have boxes in your car. We have to admit, we don’t know that law either.
So who is our winner of the week? It has to be the woman with the dog in the restaurant! Why are you eating out if you need to have your dog with you? And why is the staff at Lefke’s ignoring the four-legged customer, a customer that is more likely than not illegally present? While we don’t really offer prizes, if we did, we would award this fine person a one-month trial subscription to any of the online talk therapy services. Perhaps someone can help you understand that bringing a dog into a restaurant is seemingly a cry for help and attention. (Unless, of course, that dog is a highly trained animal that provides a lifesaving function).
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