Still don’t get it.
I saw a man in walmart just yesterday with a dog strapped to his chest - like a baby. 
the dog didn’t look particularly happy.
still - it is better than leaving them in the car or tied up out front.
I don’t object to dogs in stores at all but it’s a trend for sure.
I once stood in line in Duane Reade behind a woman with a dog on a leash- and a cat on her shoulders. The cat was leashed and harnessed too, IIRC, but it was walking on her shoulders and back.
Saw a lot of interesting things when I was in college in Manhattan, but that one was the most memorable.
There appear to be a few animal owners in this thread. Would you mind explaining why you would ever take an animal to a location that you know is not appropriate?
It seems to me that if you were going to the bank, or the hardware store, or anywhere people congregate the sensible thing is to just leave the animal at home. What is it that leads people to think that they need to drag their pet everywhere? I mean I’m a parent of an actual human being and I knew better than to drag the kid to places that were not well suited for children. Why can’t animal owners have the same common sense?
Our dog is too hostile to cats, and other dogs, for it to be a good idea for to wait in the vet waiting room. We keep her outside until the vet staff can put us in an exam room. They are cooperative with this and I gather from their reaction it’s not unusual. It’s on the owner of the animal that can’t wait nicely with other animals, in your case the cat lady.
Our dog is OTOH unfailingly placid and pleasant in any all-human situation. But we don’t usually bring her into places of business where allowed (and of course not if a sign says no dogs) mainly in case somebody else has brought their dog, because there will be a ruckus if another dog challenges or mouths off to her (she’s OK with smaller dogs, especially males, if they don’t challenge her). I bring her into the indoor ATM vestibule at the bank sometimes, not the actual lobby. The latter has a sign saying no (non service) dogs. I can control her near another dog, I just try to avoid that situation.
Yesterday a lady at Dunkin Donuts had her small dog. AFAIK it’s a health code violation for the staff at a place like that to allow in any dog. I don’t personally get upset about it, nice little dog, it climbed up my leg and I gave it a little petting. But, a dog really shouldn’t be at an indoor food serving establishment. People with smaller dogs seem more likely to try this than people with bigger, especially fierce looking like ours, dogs.
To some, their pet is their baby. Very little difference, and often a lack of ability to distinguish.
I don’t approve of carrying dogs in baby bjorns like that. Dogs are quadrupeds. They’re not designed to put their weight on their hips and spine like that, sitting straight up. Besides, most dogs really need the exercise of walking. And they can’t sniff things properly, strapped up high like that. It’s not healthy for them, even if it’s more convenient for their pigheaded owners.
Most places are appropriate if the pet is well socialized and well mannered. It helped s to keep them so. And it’s fun for them. Pets are highly social creatures so keeping g them home bound can make them crazy.
I’m walking down to the bank with my dog and hubby this afternoon, at his insistence, because every time he goes there they ask where’s the dog? Next time, bring the dog!
If the business is cool with it, and the bank has made it very clear, and your dog is well behaved how is it a problem for anyone else?
If the businesses allow and even encourage it (by having dog bowls and treats on hand) then it’s **not **not appropriate, and it’s just a hang up of yours.
I’ve seen dogs in banks and many various stores around here (NYC) and I have never once seen any of them be a problem.
There could be customers who are very allergic to dogs?
There could be…except…as it so happens…my dog is one of those hyper allergenic dogs! Besides how can it be worse than any other outdoor space where there are routinely dogs? Like bus stops? Parks? Ball fields? City streets? People with allergies, even severe ones seem to manage somehow.
They made a big fuss over him, three came out to pet him. He doesn’t go everywhere with me. But he goes to the bank because they like it, so why not?
What with idiot children owners? Yesterday while awaiting a blood draw, some idiot mother came into the waiting room with her (possibly not clinically) hyperactive kid, who just couldn’t shut the hell up and stay put. In the meantime, the two little kids sitting in front of my were perfect little angels.
At some point some dude offered the disruptive brat the chance to watch something on an iPad or similar. It’s probably the very first time in my life I was happy to hear someone’s un-earphone’d iPad, let alone its spouting out about Jehovah and his Witness stuff.
I work in an office and we have clients that drop in. I have a container of dog treats. Having a person come by is fine, but what makes me smile is having a dog come in.
Because they and you are not the only ones in the bank, and I doubt they evaluated whether your dog was hypoallergenic before inviting him in.
I have the arguably most civilized breed (greyhounds, see greyhounds in Gettysburg) and love how they’re so quiet and calm and sweet that they’re welcome almost more places than I am. Having said that, I don’t push the boundaries. Except… in emergencies. Like last summer when I had to drive my Capri up to Philadelphia for a special vet visit and we had to stop for a pee break midway. Walked her around some grass in the Delaware house rest area and then I had to go. Sorry, I’m not leaving her in a locked car, nor am I tying her to something near the door. I quickly marched my girl into the shop, straight to the ladies room and into the handicapped stall with me. Marched straight out again when I was done. I think the staff only noticed our back ends as we left. A few customers were surprised to see a dog but we ignored them and tended to our business. She might be a different species but she’s still my baby girl.
My dog goes to work with me most days with the blessing of my boss. He is a 10lb chihuahua that will be 11 you in May. He mostly sleeps and gets his potty breaks and his sunshine time. I know when VIP’s are coming in advance so I leave him home those days.
He is not a typical yapping chihuahua and rarely barks. I have had him since he was eighteen months and he has not missed many days of work. He is my baby.
There was a small dog on my flight today, not in a carrier. Must’ve been someone’s “service” dog, which is nuts. Abuse of the service dog designation is going to lead to crackdowns, hopefully soon.
The closest any of our dogs has ever been to a bank is in the car at the drive-through teller. She enjoyed that because the tellers would send her biscuits.
I am fond of dogs in general, but owners have to realize that there are people with allergies, scared of dogs, or who just would prefer not to encounter them inside businesses* or on public transportation.
*Allowing pets in pet stores seems like a natural, but even there the animal has to be well-behaved.
**I used to take our Lab to the garden center, where she was welcome. She did embarrass me once by taking a large, steaming dump in the greenhouse, and I had to run to the bathroom for toilet paper so I could do a cleanup before we were found out. :smack:
I guess I just don’t get it.
I am so tired of the entitlement so many people feel today. You make a private decision to purchase an animal and from that moment forward you consider it to be the duty of the rest of the world to take responsibility for your decision. It is not my, or anyone else’s, responsibility if you can’t figure out how to balance you daily activities with being a pet owner. If you can’t both own a dog and fulfill your other obligations, without dragging your animal into everyone else’s space, then get rid of the dog.
It frankly boggles my mind that there are institutions that encourage animal owners to inflict their animals on other customers. I will make it a priority to tell any establishment I enter that I am adamantly opposed to encountering animals in their facilities. Hopefully if enough people complain we can at least create a few safe areas for people who find the presence of livestock while trying to conduct business disruptive. And while certain people will howl at the “unfairness” of that statement, I can’t understand how it could possibly be seen as even controversial. Maybe I could pop in for a visit at their houses with a few goats and see how that goes down.
Yeah, well, the times they are achanging. It’s not entitlement, or an inability to balance life tasks. Businesses are cool with it because it’s good for business. Propriety is generational for lots of things.
(Just to be clear no one likes ill behaved dogs and they should not be in anyone’s business if they bark, jump, or may pee. I’ve seen such dogs tied outside but never in a store, but am certain it must happen! I’m not referring to those dogs or those owners!)
You live in more relaxed times, people aren’t as uptight about a dog in the hardware store or bank. Assuming it’s well behaved, and food’s not being sold, served, or prepared, and the bank is cool with it, why do you care so much?