# Have you ever snuck a tiny dog or cat into a store while shopping? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 1, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423 "2012-10-01T21:05:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/1 "2012-10-01T21:05:11Z")
Back when my Chihuahua, Bill, was a pup I loved taking him with me on errands. We’d often stop at the park for a walk. Sometimes I’d need to stop at Kroger for milk or cereal. I didn’t want to leave him in the car. It was late Fall and I just slipped Bill into my coat pocket or under my sweater. 😛 No one was any wiser. Once in awhile his head would pop out and look around. Thankfully never at the cash register. Nearly got caught after a few months because he barked in the store. :eek: I guess he was getting to close to adulthood. So that ended that. He’s a foot long now and 4.5 lbs. Too big for a pocket these days. It was fun and didn’t hurt a thing. I can take Bill to Petco on a leash. They like dogs. You ever sneak a dog into school or a store? ---
**Author:** ![FloatyGimpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/floatygimpy/32/7750_2.png) [@FloatyGimpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FloatyGimpy)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/2 "2012-10-01T21:36:06Z")
Not a dog but when I was a kid I had a hamster named Laverne. My little friend had one named Elmer Fudd. We arranged a meeting of sorts and a few weeks later Lavern had 13 babies. My dad pawned them off on any kid who came to my house. I had two friends visiting from far away and they had to fly back home. Their parents weren’t here for the visit so my dad was able to give them each a baby hamster because their parents weren’t around to say “no”. When it was time for them to leave, we took two small margarine containers, poked holes in the top and put a hamster in each tub and snuck them on the plane. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2012, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/3 "2012-10-01T23:30:15Z")
My neighbor got a new (malti-yorki?) puppy last year & went away the first weekend they had him. I dog sat & took him out with me. It was fall, so in the morning/evening when it was cold, he went in the hoodie pocket, & during the mid day, when it was warm, in the cargo pocket of shorts. Freaked some woman out in the mall until she realized it was a real puppy. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![turtledove\_river](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@turtledove\_river](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/turtledove_river)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/4 "2012-10-02T00:18:27Z")
My mom snuck a week old kitten into a plane in her purse. She even had to put her through the X ray machine. She made it OK. She died at the age of 13. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/5 "2012-10-02T00:35:13Z")
> [@turtledove\_river](#): > > My mom snuck a week old kitten into a plane in her purse. She even had to put her through the X ray machine. She made it OK. She died at the age of 13. She had you when she was HOW old? ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/6 "2012-10-02T01:16:37Z")
We snuck two cats into the Excalibur hotel in Las Vegas. Long story. But it involved us carrying a squirming duffle bag through the casino as nonchalantly as one can. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/7 "2012-10-02T01:22:43Z")
My husband was reading this thread and prodded me to share our tale - once we had a pet-carrier duffle bag (with mesh panels for light/air) and took two of our ferrets through a shopping mall. Fortunately they were quite well-behaved and didn’t demand to be let out! ---
**Author:** ![TheChileanBlob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thechileanblob/32/435_2.png) [@TheChileanBlob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheChileanBlob)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/8 "2012-10-02T01:22:47Z")
When I used to have The World’s Smallest Kitten, we would take him into the corner store all the time, in a shirt pocket or in the top of overalls. It was the kind of store where shoes and shirts didn’t matter so you wouldn’t think they’d mind, but they eventually put up a “No Animals” sign. ☹ In high school I had a mouse that I would smuggle to class occasionally. ---
**Author:** ![Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aji_de_gallina/32/260_2.png) [@Aji\_de\_Gallina](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aji_de_Gallina)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/9 "2012-10-02T01:56:52Z")
When my wife’s dog needed her first set of clothes she told me to go to the supermarket and buy it. Since choosing puppy clothes is as natural to me piloting an A-10 I took the puppy so I could measure the bleeping clothes. ---
**Author:** ![Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8c91f0/32.png) [@Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Curiosity_Kills_Her)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/10 "2012-10-02T01:58:19Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > My husband was reading this thread and prodded me to share our tale - once we had a pet-carrier duffle bag (with mesh panels for light/air) and took two of our ferrets through a shopping mall. Fortunately they were quite well-behaved and didn’t demand to be let out! You must have some relaxed and non-squirrely ferrets. I don’t think mine would have allowed for that without trying to bust out. The only furred contraband I’ve ever taken into public were [these guys](http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/17331_101847299847123_3531079_n.jpg) in a zippered pouch. On second thought, I may have carried in a hidden rat or two once or twice as well. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/11 "2012-10-02T02:00:57Z")
> [@Curiosity\_Kills\_Her](#): > > You must have some relaxed and non-squirrely ferrets. I don’t think mine would have allowed for that without trying to bust out. They were starting to get revved up at the end so we headed out. I think they were kind of thrilled by the new bag and the experience, and the mesh let them see out pretty well while making it hard for anyone to see anything in the bag, so they got a lot of curiosity satisfied until they finally decided they’d really rather explore outside the bag. ---
**Author:** ![kjbrasda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/74df32/32.png) [@kjbrasda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kjbrasda)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/12 "2012-10-02T04:08:56Z")
For awhile in HS, it was common for kids to sneak their more unusual pets into school. Small snakes, rats, things like that. One guy sent his rat under my desk in study hall, thinking it would scare me I guess. I just handed it back to him. ---
**Author:** ![Nzinga\_Seated](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5ac83/32.png) [@Nzinga\_Seated](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nzinga_Seated)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/13 "2012-10-02T05:58:13Z")
I will never forget when a technician sneaked a kitten into the call center under his jacket. Made my day. ---
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/14 "2012-10-02T06:11:14Z")
We had a Dog Day at work. I had a puppy and took her on the bus. A coworker had a small dog, and sneaked her dog on the bus as well. Quite a few people knew I had a puppy on board. The driver didn’t, though. Of course in college I had an illegal kitten for an entire semester. When I worked retail, there weren’t supposed to be pets in the mall except service animals. Well, a lot of purse dogs came in, and as long as they stayed in the purse, why would anybody mind? I guess if you were allergic. Um, somebody mentioned a dog who needed its first set of clothes? Sorry, dogs do not need clothes. But anyplace that sells dog clothes should really let the dogs in to try them on. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 6:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/15 "2012-10-02T06:20:32Z")
My crazy (literally) ex husband smuggled my two cats into the ICU to see me while I was working. My boss saw him and them and I nearly lost my job. ---
**Author:** ![scootergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e99b99/32.png) [@scootergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scootergirl)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 7:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/16 "2012-10-02T07:15:57Z")
No, I have not. You see, I have a strict rule - never get a dog small enough that a bird of prey can grab and fly away with. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/17 "2012-10-02T15:04:56Z")
When I was about sixteen, out with some friends on a Saturday night, we scooped up a chocolate lab puppy that we met at the gas pumps and took him with us to Burger King. I wound up keeping him (named him Amoco after the gas station). More than once while working at McDonald’s, I kept kittens or stray cats in a box in the break room until the end of my shift. On one of those occasions, I passed through the lobby on my way to the bathroom and heard the piercing cries coming through the wall very clearly…as did all the customers, who looked grim. 🙂 I work in an office now, and have kept kittens here a few times. The last one happened just a few months ago, when the courier rescued a kitten out of a busy street. She couldn’t take it with her on her rounds, so I got to babysit it for the rest of the day. It’s not really kosher to have a cat in here, but my supervisor loves animals too, and as long as no one knows, no one’s upset. ---
**Author:** ![eclectic\_wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ac91a4/32.png) [@eclectic\_wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eclectic_wench)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/18 "2012-10-02T15:37:51Z")
When we lived in Rome there was this extremely elegant lady in our neighbourhood, and one day I was in a shop with her and this tiny head popped out of the pocket of her designer coat. She had a kitten in there. The next time I saw her was months and months later, and she was wearing a lush fur stole all patterned in oranges and blacks…and then it blinked at me :eek: The kitten had turned into a huge, long-haired cat, and she was wearing it around her shoulders. I was well impressed. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/19 "2012-10-02T15:38:49Z")
You don’t need to sneak them in at all. Can’t remember where I saw it, (think it was on the radio actually) but apparantly the American’s with Disabilities Act states that a store is not allowed to ask to see “papers” concerning one’s service animal. The story I heard was about how people are abusing the system by just bringing in whatever animal they feel like, and claiming that it is a service animal. Since the store can’t ask to see the dog’s certifications or the person’s record (HIPPA violation too, probably) the store is forced to let them walk around and shop with the animal. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2012, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423/20 "2012-10-02T15:53:57Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > Since the store can’t ask to see the dog’s certifications or the person’s record (HIPPA violation too, probably) the store is forced to let them walk around and shop with the animal. \ I don’t see what the big deal would be to provide a simple card stating that the dog (or whatever) is a service animal. It wouldn’t have to reveal medical info, what service the animal provides, etc. Just a simple certification obtained via a doctor, like a handicap tag for your car. Presumably that would give stores an excuse to boot out Mrs. Throatwarbler-Mangrove and her purse dog Precious. \ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-ever-snuck-a-tiny-dog-or-cat-into-a-store-while-shopping/636423.md?page=2)