Here in Seattle, quite a few water fountains in public parks have a 2nd fountain at ground level for pets. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean that all dog owners will be courteous enough to use them, but at least it's a start.

In reality, though, all kind of other gross things are going to get on outdoor fountains even if we keep the dogs away, not the least of which comes from the other people who used them before you.

My understanding (and this is just what I've heard, not something I've investigated) is that if you let a well-maintained fountain run long enough, say 10 seconds, before drinking from it, it's almost certainly fine. Of course, this assumes there isn't any visible contamination on there that the water's flowing through. In short, I don't hesitate to use them if they look OK.

Evolution of parents: 1. First baby - pacifier gets sterilized between uses 2. Second baby - pacifier goes through dishwasher between uses 3. Third baby - pacifier held out so dog can lick it clean between uses

No dog and no third baby. However, we went through the first two steps exactly like that.

If you don't actually touch the faucet and let the water run for a few seconds before drinking it, what's the danger? Anything that the dog would've put on it would be washed away, no?

Dog parks usually have double fountains, one near the ground for dogs and a taller one that's more accessible for humans.

I don't blame you for feeling a bit disgusted, but it's possible that the salivary/gut bacteria of dogs might actually confer a benefit on humans' immune systems. There's a study underway at the University of Arizona to investigate this: http://www.uadogstudy.org/thestudy/

Dogs stereotypically have bad breath but a healthy dog on a healthy diet should smell OK. There are variations within breeds (and probably within humans in how those scents are perceived). Many dogs like to give kisses to express affection so if you get a dog in the future it's something you'll quickly get used to.

I've seen a friend French-kiss his dog (he relished grossing other people out) and he didn't seem worse for it. Of course I wouldn't do it myself, but it can't be as bad as you think it might be.

Humans french kiss each other, and we don't have clean mouths most of the time, either.

We don't tend to eat our friends excrement..

Well, I've never seen a dog do that, and I've lived with quite a few.

All mother dogs do this.

> Still, I have to wonder: is that reasonable of me? And otherwise, is it expected to let your pet sharing the same water source with human?

Americans are absolutely nuts about what they'll let their pets do.

Given the abrasive nature of the dog's tongue and the anti-septic nature of its saliva, if the fountain wasn't clean before the dog used it, it certainly was afterwards.

But it doesn't really matter if the outside of the fountain is clean or not as long as you don't actually put your mouth on the fountain. All you care about is the water pipes inside the fountain, and those are just as clean as water pipes any where else.

>Given the abrasive nature of the dog's tongue and the anti-septic nature of its saliva

http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/dogmouth.asp

> All you care about is the water pipes inside the fountain, and those are just as clean as water pipes any where else.

I don't see why they would be, especially on the end close to the outlet. I mean, lots of water pipes don't have an open end, facing upward and at angle, exposed to the outdoor environment. Sure, water fountains have shields over the outlet to minimize environmental contaminants entering them, but the fact that they are in a position to need them is an issue.

Now, it may be that in normal use the additional contamination doesn't significant additional danger (I'd expect this to be true inversely with frequency of use, all else being equal), but I wouldn't think it would be "as clean as water pipes anywhere else".

Answer: Americans don't view dogs as non-human. They aren't dirty beasts, they're just hairy, slobbering kids who always die too soon.

Of course it's reasonable of you.

The burden of proof is on the water fountain (or more specifically, the designers of the water fountain) as to whether drinking from it is safe.

This is not a problem with being overly cautious. This is a problem with an antiquated design.

What exactly is antiquated about the design of modern water fountains? How could the designers of the water fountain effectively and reasonably communicate that the water fountain is safe to drink from, and do so for the design life of the fixture?

Sure, some water fountains look old...but I imagine that if you live in a major city, odds are (from a logistical standpoint, unless you live in a new subdivision) the tap water to your house or apartment flows through pipes that are older than that water fountain. A dog drinking from the fountain is gross, but I'm not sure the onus is on the designer to totally prevent people from acting silly.

Good design can always find a solution -- off the top of my head, integrating some kind of sterile recyclable mouthpiece dispenser would assuage most concerns

In the case of potable water valves, this is accomplished by preventing backflow and being made out of a hard smooth material. When you turn on a drinking fountain, the stream of water flushes any loose dirt and debris, so as long as you avoid contact with the fountain (the stream should be adjusted so that this is easy), there isn't going to be significant transfer of anything.

The design is not antiquated; actually it's pretty brilliant. However, if the water pressure is insufficient, the main protection doesn't work. And that's distressingly common.

For most of human history, the water we drank was not nearly as 'safe' as the one from that fountain - somehow we still made it to this day and age.

Dog mouths are not sterile.