that actually is a very good point. My husband and I are allergic to smoke and he allergic to cats. We love pets of many kinds but when we are with clients in their home and a cat is relentless about being in his face I am left with trying to entertain the cat because the owners never seem to get the clue when someone says they are allergic to the cat that it may be nice to just close the cat out of the room temperarily. If we are working on a sewing machine having the cat present at times becomes a safety issue as cats in particular tend to get right in there and don't realize the danger to themselves.
On the flip side I must share a humorous interaction. Many years ago we had work done replacing windows on a 1929 English tutor. The agreement was 1/2 down until all work completed. The manager of the project realized my husband was out of state for a long period and began trying to pressure me to pay the remainder immediately. At the time we had a beautiful male red and white siberian husky with icey blue eyes. Everytime this guy came to the house Josh would walk over sniff his shoes casually them nail him by bringing his head up with full force right in his crotch. The guy demanded I put the dog away but I refused as he was my protector and this was not a friendly situation. After that everytime the man came to the house he walked sideways with his knees pinched together. In normal situations where there is a matter of allergy though we cetainly would close the pet off for the time being. We restore wintage machines and we are very careful to make sure nothing we use or any itme that leaves here has hair on it.