McDonald’s outlets have all sorts of scenes and customers inside. From children of families ecstatic over their happy meals and toys, to broke and tired college students enjoying their fries and nuggets. As many complaints as the franchise has about their pricing and quality of food, the fast food chain is still extremely popular. However, recently, a fierce debate rose anew as a particularly controversial picture started circulating online.

The picture was originally posted on Reddit and appears to originate from an outlet in St Kilda’s Road in Melbourne. At first glance, it is a pretty cute photograph. It shows a small white Chihuahua sitting atop a table in a McDonald’s outlet, with the owners sitting, waiting for their food, right beside it. However, the problem was soon highlighted: it was an animal sitting on a table where people ate. Here’s the image:

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A Major Hygiene Risk Spotted At A McDonald’s

Comments flowed in against the picture, with viewers angry at the apparent disregard for basic public health shown by the dog’s owners. One comment read: “People are gross and don’t care about anything other than themselves.” Another went: “Yeah it’s not fine dining doesn’t mean your disgusting dog can sit on the table.” There were many more “Yuck” and “Gross” comments that followed, even from users who admitted to being dog lovers.

However, at the same time, some users pointed out a very obvious situation. Customers were provided a tray to eat on top of at McDonald’s. Moreover, people usually assume that the tabletops at such fast food chains are not the cleanest. So, the comments read: “Who eats their food directly off the table, always eat off the bag.” A second one went: “Unless you’re planning on licking the table, I’m not sure why this would bother you.”

According to a statement from McDonald’s Australia, officially, animals are not permitted to enter the restaurants belonging to the chain, unless they are support animals. Their official statement read: “We do not allow dogs into our restaurant for safety and hygiene purposes, with the exception of support animals. We expect customers to follow the restaurant entry rules. Our restaurants follow strict cleaning, sanitization and hygiene procedures at all times.”

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Sources

1. “McDonald’s customers spark outrage by letting dog sit on table in restaurant.” Mirror. Amber O’Connor. April 3, 2023.
2. “Ordinary photo of a McDonald’s in Australia leaves diners outraged: ‘Disgusting’.” Daily Mail. Antoinette Milienos. April 3, 2023.