Everyday Cody the dog has greeted patrons of the Clearwater, Fla., BP gas station and convenience store. He's a popular fixture, warming hearts and bringing a smile to everyone's faces. But this week Cody may have lost his job for good.

Cody
© MyFoxTampaBay
Cody greets a customer at the BP gas station in Clearwater, Fla.
The St. Petersburg Times reports that on Thursday, Cody's owner and BP store owner, Karim Mansour, received a notice from the Florida Department of Agriculture that said Cody was a source of food contamination. The report stated, "Prohibited animals present in a food establishment. Dog seen in retail area."

"The guy was told this is not sanitary to have an animal running around in the area where food is kept," Terence McElroy, Department of Agriculture spokesman, told the Times. "We all love dogs. But the fact of the matter, as far as we're concerned, nothing's more important than preventing food contamination."

Even though all the food sold by the store is packaged or bottled, Mansour said he is complying for now and has been leaving Cody at home.

"There's no way one of my dog's hairs are going to get into a bag of Doritos," Mansour said. "I don't know what I'm going to do without him. It's going to be boring here, and people are going to be looking for him."

When they were told of the news about Cody, customers were disappointed.

"I'm all for him being here," said Mark Little, who visits the store weekly for cigarettes and soda. "He comes up, greets the customers, everyone's happy."

Readers online were equally upset. " I am e-mailing the mayor, vice mayor and governor about it...this should be falling under the Doggy Dining Bill...if owners are allowed to have their dogs at restaurants, what's the harm in having the dog at the store?" wrote Nikki Oldaker on TampaBay.com. Wanderer added , " Seriously, guys? Surely public health and the FDA should be dealing more with what goes into our food BEFORE packaging and selling than worrying about what's in the store with PREPACKAGED AND SEALED food."

Heather said , " Keep Cody there!!! Pets bring so much joy to people and we could all use a little more joy. It's no different from a service or therapy animal. Working dogs are everywhere!"