In the Dog House - Please

Late last week I picked up my car from the service center at the car dealership.  The new car showroom, the retail area, the waiting area and the service center check-in and cashier are all in the same building.  Everything in the dealership building was shiny and new.  Of course there were the slick cars ready to be driven out of the show room!  Snacks and beverages were available for potential buyers and customers.  Various jackets and shirts and caps bearing the logo of the car brand were displayed and available for purchase.  Everyone who worked there was smiling and helpful!   One of the sales staff offered to let me test drive a new car – he could get me a good price on my existing car and put me in a brand new one for next to nothing!!  The service cashier reviewed with me all the work done on my car – I’m all set for the Minnesota winter!  There weren’t too many customers in the showroom at that time, but there were several customers milling about the service area, picking up and dropping off cars.  Two of the customers were four legged – a large black lab was sprawled out in the waiting area, and another small brown and white furry dog was running around underneath tables and chairs in the waiting area.

I bet some of you have a mental picture of those dogs and are thinking “aahh, how cute.”  Hmm.  Right away I will admit I am not a “dog person.”  Those who know me well know I’m more of a “crazy cat lady.”  I have a vague memory of a beagle named Holly who was a pet when I was a toddler, but she must have gone to live on a farm (and not my grandparents’ farm!)  Other than my short relationship with Holly, I’ve never had a dog for a pet, and have never wanted one.  When I was 7 or 8 years old, Duke the German shepherd who lived across the street viciously attacked me.  Fortunately it was cold weather season and I managed to escape his hold by slipping out of my winter coat.  But the broken skin on my arms and legs and the rabies shot is still a vivid memory, and the remaining scars are a regular reminder of that scary incident.  Sorry dog lovers, I’m not fan of the species.  So I am always more than a little appalled when others bring their dog – or two –to places of businesses.  Why do dog owners think it’s ok to do this?

  

I don’t dislike dogs in general.  Reggie next door is an old German shepherd (who looks very much like Duke).  I like Reggie.  He never barks at me, he follows the kids around the cul-de-sac when they are playing, and he often lies in the grass chewing his bone.  Occasionally he’ll wander over to our deck or garage, I’ll pet him for a few minutes and then he’ll go home.  There’s Brody up the street who is a beautiful golden retriever.  He barks a lot, but as soon as I say his name, he lets me pet him.  I think Brody would show the crooks where the silver is kept!  Tanner and Chloe are sibling bull dogs a few doors down.  They are a little too hyper for my liking, but are generally well behaved.  All that said, I don’t want to run into Reggie, Brody, Tanner or Chloe anywhere I conduct my consumer affairs.

Why do some feel it is socially acceptable have a dog tag-along no matter the destination?  Reality TV personalities carry their dogs around in expensive little bags – Paris Hilton, New York Housewife Jill Zarin and Bethanny Frankel of Skinny Girl fame, to name a few.  But those with dogs I’ve run into are not Reality TV stars!  My brother’s neighbor has as pet pig – Norman the Potbelly Pig.  Norman wouldn’t fit in a cute little bag, but he does have a leash.  Will we soon be running into Norman and others like him at the grocery store, dry cleaners, and pharmacy on Saturday mornings?

I would never bring Nola or Beignet, my extremely loveable and adorable cats, with me to the mall, drugstore, car dealership, or to a boutique in San Francisco, another place where I recently encountered a furry customer.  Common Sense (note:  capitalization intentional) tells me it’s likely there would be other customers at these places of business who wouldn’t appreciate my feline friends as much as I do.   No shoes, no shirts, no food, no drinks.  And please, no pets.

Just sayin’.

Laurie