Whole Foods has faced criticism after a photo of a shopper holding her dog close to the hot bar during a shopping session. The image, originally posted on Reddit, showed a customer browsing the buffet counter while holding her small white dog, with the dog's tail and genitals hovering near the open food. The backlash was largely directed towards the customer, arguing that the dog could be a service animal and thus permitted in the store, but not within farting range of the hot food. Despite this, dog experts have dismissed the myth that a dog's mouth is cleaner than a human's, stating that dogs are actually good at picking out food.