As someone in the Seattle area I can’t agree more. It just boggles me how so many people seem to think it’s perfectly ok to bring their dogs with them in to retail shops, grocery stores, restaurants, workplace, and so on.
Some people are allergic to dogs, some people are afraid of dogs, some people just don’t like them. As an animal lover it sickens me because not only is it incredibly inconsiderate to others, but these people are treating their pets as some sort of sentient accessory.
(In case it’s not clear I’m referring to companion animals, not service animals.)
I did notice the painful lack of publicly accessible dogs on my trip with @SlyBevel in Utah. Makes me appreciate that I can just sit out front of a grocery store reading memes on my phone and meet a dozen cool dogs in an hour.
Well I think that’s the attitude of most people, really. Which I’m okay with, but as other people have pointed out, they’re allergic or phobic and would really rather not be surprised by someone’s lhasa apso while they’re trying to buy frozen peas.
Yeah. I mean, maybe not in the grocery store. But… I get it.
Heh, I had this happen the other day:
I was running errands at the grocery store. When I went in, there was a middle-aged golden retriever tied up to the bike rack. When I came out, fully an hour later (I was torn over what kind of oatmeal to get.) he was still there. With no water.
I decided to sit with the pooch and hang out and give him some scritches. Maybe the owner will show up. I gave him some water, since his nose and tongue were dry and he was pretty thirsty. Another hour goes by, so it’s been two hours with the dog tied up to a bike rack, out of line of sight of the main doors to the store, in the hot summer sun. I’m starting to get annoyed, then pissed off. Apparently whoever is supposed to be taking care of this dog doesn’t really value him. I went back in the store, told one of the associates about the dog, and how long it’s been there. Let them know the breed and the name on the collar (no phone number. I would have called them much earlier).
I had to go by that point, but that incident has been pissing me off. Maybe because I lost my own guy recently. Old age for him, but still. Appreciate your friends while they’re still here. Life’s short. Their lives are a lot shorter.
This totally bugs me. I could never leave my dog tied up outside because I was afraid that someone would snatch her. I’ve also sat with a scared Chihuahua waiting for it’s human to return.
That totally gets me too. I’ve read more than a few stories of stolen Cavalier King Charles tied up outside a boutique or WF or etc and the owner just could BELIEVE someone would steal their dog.
I started to reply to this … about twice now. I realized that there’s nothing coherent I can say about it. I’m glad you got to sit with that poor dog and I’m elated that you provided water and scrithes for him. The best I can say is that the owner doesn’t deserve to have a dog, but then I realized they probably won’t have one for long at that rate … which seriously depresses me.
Going to go pet some spoiled cats now. They won’t know why, but they’ll take advantage of me, I’m sure. I wonder if my neighbor would let me borrow his dogs for a bit?
I’ll say it. I love hot, greasy Dick’s in my mouth. I’ll take your Dick’s if you don’t keep an eye on it, and you’ll have to watch me greedily gobble all the Dick’s.
