I was at the Glendale Galleria yesterday (a big mall near Los Angeles) and i saw not one, but two women (actually one woman one girl) carrying around a little dog, like a chi-hua-hua or little terrior or some other rat/dog, in a ther bag over their shoulder or carrying it around like a shopping bag.
I like dogs(although the smaller they are, the less I like them), which is why I get a bit angry when I see them trotted around as some sort of fashion accessory. I don’t doubt these people love their dogs, but do these people really think the dog likes being trotted around in public, confined to some bag, only it’s little head and maybe it’s front paws sticking out (OH, that’s so cu-u-u-ute!), eyes wide as as saucers as it wonders…WHY THE HELL WAS I - A DOG - BROUGHT ALONG ON A SHOPPING EXCRUSION???
Why? Because Paris Hilton takes here freaking microdog everywhere and yes, there are people who look to people like Paris Hilton for what they should be doing.
Why? Because they have convinced themselves that you like it (while I, being far more knowledgable, of course, know you do not).
Why? Because it draws attention to your owner, your self-centered, treats their dog like a little person, (I know folks like to think of their pets as their children, which is fine, but it still isn’t the equivalent of “I couldn’t find a babysitter, so I had to bring Sparkles with me.”) owner.
I wouldn’t be shocked if their are folks out ther who think, “Hmm, which goes better with my shoes, Fido or Muffin?”
I’m envisioning a Mad TV or SNL “commericial” where they show some ladies with the tiny dogs in bags at the mall and then show some guy dragging his 60lb Lab or 100lb German Shep around in a dufflebag or carrying them as fashion statements. THAT would crack me up.
Are these women allowed to bring them in the mall by by claiming that they’re service dogs? :dubious:
They couldn’t get away with that around here. Must be an LA thing.
The small dog thing is getting way out of hand, Studio City is crawling with them. EVERYONE out here has one, it’s really scary. I blame Paris Hilton. (ok, so it’s probably not really her, but it’s fun to blame stuff on that twit.)
When we buy a place I’m getting a big dog and feeding it those tiny ones for lunch.
While I can understand on an intellectual level that this is true, there’s a deep-seated, visceral, inabillity for me to actually make myself believe it.
Hey, don’t knock the little dogs! My grandmother used to have a Yorkshire terrier named Jennifer when I was little. Jennifer was without a doubt the BEST behaved dog I’ve ever met, the sweetest, cutest, most friendly little thing. Nor was she a wimp-terriers were bred for hunting vermin, and she used to kill rats around my grandparents’ place.
You know, the only time I’ve ever seen that in the flesh is in Paris, and those people are just nuts about their damned dogs. I guess people in South Carolina don’t really go for purse dogs. Do they let them out to take a crap? Because if I hauled my dog around in a purse it better be something you can hose down.
When Polaris was a little three-pound puppy, I took her everywhere with me, and yes, I carried her in a bag. Not because she was a fashion accessory (though she did go well with my suede jacket) but because I wanted her to be socialized.
She liked it. When she saw me getting my keys, she would hurl herself into the bag, tail wagging. She got to meet people, smell new smells and hear loud noises, all very important things for a puppy to experience.
Sure, some people treat their dogs like fashion accessories. Hell, some people treat their kids that way. However, I think it’s rude to assume that everyone who wants to bring their dog with them is doing so to impress others. Maybe they just like having their dogs with them. They’re not hurting anyone, least of all the dogs.
Did she seem to enjoy being in the bag as much as she would have enjoyed walking on a leash? If so, I will consider my ignorance fought, and stop feeling sorry for dogs that are being carried in bags (unless they have weird haircuts or tacky doggie sweaters- I’ll still feel sorry for those).
Why did you carry her in a bag instead of walking her on a leash? I really want to know- is there some risk she would face walking on a leash that she wouldn’t in a bag, or was she just too little to keep up, or what?
I will mention here that I once helped socialize a dog that someone had brought along with them to Long’s Drugs. I saw the dog in a cart, and went over to pet it (as I normally do when I see people out with their dogs, though I always ask first if it’s OK). I not only got to pet the dog, I got puppy kisses!
Hee hee. You’ve put me in mind of a friend of mine’s boyfriend (wouldn’t call him my friend…always thought she could do better) who wanted to take his dog on the subway (NYC). So I spent an hour or so watching him trying to trying to fit his dog (a Giant Shnauzer…do you KNOW how big theses dogs are???) into some sort of “bag” that would allow him to take it on the subway. I’m rather grateful he never managed it.
And while I’m here I’ll say I’m not crazy about big dogs. But little dogs are just wrong. A dog smaller than a cat? They know something’s wrong. You can tell. I say stick to as small as a terrier and as big as a lab and we are we are at least in the realm of sanity.
I read an article in the NY Times recently that went over how many people are getting their dogs classified as certified therapy dogs. They claim that they can’t be seperated from their dogs for mental health reasons, and asking stores and restaurants to allow them in.
There ARE guide dogs trained to aid people with certain mental conditions (anxiety disorders, for one), but I believe they probably work the same way other guide dogs do-special harnesses, specially trained, etc.
Somehow, little Fee-Fee in her cutesy widdle bag probably doesn’t cut it.
Didn’t mean to minimize genuine cases of this. But this article was basically about people taking advantage of such a program, particularly in New York.
