One of my kids picked up an outfit at target (their dog clothes are cuter than their people clothes) & stuffed one of our Labs into it. It’s hard enough for a Lab to look dignified with those floppy ears and cow-eyes but stuff her into a dinosaur costume and it’s downright embarassing. I swear the other dogs were laughing at her.
Seriously, though there are health regs that prohibit animals in places where food is being sold, prepared or served for human consumption. There is is an exception for service dogs. We learned about it when we went through training for a restaurant I worked at in high school. Nowadays, training like that would be rare…
When we were camping last summer, there were these two ladies that each had a couple of those little dogs. One day, they came walking past our campsite, with the dogs in little strollers. My kids just stared at them as they went by (nicely stared…they did say hello as well ). After they were out of earshot, one of the older ones asked me why on earth someone would put a dog into a stroller ? I suppose you had to be there, but I was in hysterics over the whole thing.
I worked at an amusement park in high school and college - part of that time in one of the souvenier shops. There was a very popular ride next to the shop that, at least the first year, the wait would often be over 2 hours.
One hot July day, a couple comes in with one of the park’s rented strollers with a pug sitting in it. They position the stroller under one of the air conditioner vents, and tell us "If she wakes up, just say “sit Suzy” and go off to wait on the ride.
She was actually a good dog - just sat there and watch for 2 hours until the people came back.
The park no longer allows animals (except service ones) - there’s a kennel at the front gate.
I see this all of the time in Arizona. We are occupied by a lot of what we call “snow birds” who live here during the winter months when it’s extremely tame compared to other states and then they move somewhere cooler in the summer when it becomes similar to hell here.
It’s just as common to see an elderly woman with a little yapper as it is to see her with a husband or gentleman friend. They take them everywhere because it really is their “companion”. When I used to work in retail stores some of the regulars would come in and “introduce” their companions to the employees and would expect you to remember the pups name next time they came in… these dogs really were thier life and they’d take them anywhere they went whether a grocery store, sandwich shop or clothing outlet. Our store had a sign out front that specified only service animals were alowed in but the managers usually had the heart to leave them be as long as we didn’t find any “presents” in the aisles or shopping carts that they sat in while “mommy” shopped.
Be very careful of purchasing anything from any of the pet store that allows people to bring their dogs into the store.
Yes, there usually is an “accident” station somewhere in the aisles to supply dog owners with free items that can be used to clean up after their dog’s “accidents”
but you’ll also notice that many of the “accidents” happen at the corners of the aisles and often times absolutely no attempt has been made to clean up the “accident”.
If you must shop at one of those stores, choose products stacked above “accident” level
especially if you’re shopping for kitty stuff.
Dogs in restaurants? I’ve seen it in Europe (and cats in Africa, but they were working)
but never in the USA.
In the states I have seen lap dogs sitting in special cloth containers on their “mommies” laps while at the hair dressers while their “mommies” discuss which special food they feed their “baby” so its poop is easier to pick up.
This is nothing new.
I don’t think these are the same dogs that are marking the pet store aisles.
I remember a carbide engineer I knew telling me of a stint he did in Thailand. He was invited to eat dinner at the home of one of his co-workers, a local. The house was raised on stilts, as much for the breeze as to avoid flooding. All the dinner plates and utensils were steel. After dinner, the plates were all put down on the ground under the house for the local cats to lick clean. Talk about your working cats!
I really think that all dogs, regardless of size, are healthiest, happiest and sanest if treated like dogs…not like dollies. I’ve known some Chihuahuas, Toy Poodles and Yorkies who were tough little characters…and well-adjusted to boot. The “yappie little dog” syndrome can be laid squarely at the feet of the owner in most cases.
That said, I can think of some occasions when a carrier…or even, yes, a baby carriage makes sense. An elderly or infirm dog often can still get out and enjoy a bit of the world if he’s able to ride. When my Cedar’s arthritis and back problems got bad, he really couldn’t walk very far. He still loved getting out and seeing people and other dogs, however. And it’s always good advice to pick a small dog up in a crowd, since it really is easy for them to be injured (that’s why I prefer miniature poodles to toy poodles…they’re just that much bigger, and considerably less fragile).
There’s no such thing as a purebred “teacup poodle” by the way…that’s a marketing technique used by unethical backyard breeders and puppy mills. The only accepted size designations are Standard (taller than 15 inches), Miniature (15 inches to just above 9 inches) and Toy (9 inches or smaller).
I hate to see living creatures treated as fashion accessories. It’s just sad…and to my mind, cruel. Dogs (even…and sometimes especially…little ones!) need to run and jump and chase things and get into mud puddles and horse manure…not dressed up, perfumed, and carted around like living dolls. They need a strong, well-adjusted pack leader, not a neurotic “mama.”
they are dogs, not little people. i dont like to see people treating dogs like children, it is bad for the person and the dog. i learned that off of the dog whisperer, thanks ceaser millan.
). After they were out of earshot, one of the older ones asked me why on earth someone would put a dog into a stroller ? I suppose you had to be there, but I was in hysterics over the whole thing.
