Everywhere I look lately, there are dogs where people used to be. I started to notice this as I worked with various grocery stores. I remember back in the day when Petco and PetSmart were the stores that were an anomaly because people were allowed to bring their pets into the store as long as those pets were on a leash. That made sense because the pet stores were allowing pets to “shop,” right? Back then, I would have never even imagined that today dogs would be running loose in grocery stores and restaurants!

This past Wednesday was particularly interesting. I was standing in the line at my local grocery store’s fish market. There were two ladies in front of me standing side by side ordering fresh fish from the two employees behind the glass display. One lady was holding a small fluffy dog as she began to inquire about the various seafood choices available. The other lady’s face and arms began to develop a rash as she visibly attempted not to touch her quickly swelling red eyes. The lady holding the dog glanced at the other lady, then did a double take, “What’s the matter with your skin? You look like you mighta stepped in a patch of poison ivy.”

“I’m fine,” the other lady waved her hand in dismissal, “I just have an allergy to dogs.”

“This little guy is giving you that big rash? I don’t think so.”

“I’m fine, it’s no big deal.”

At this point, the lady holding the dog looked very irritated and insulted and, for some reason, decided that it was a good idea to put the dog on the ground while she continued to converse with the lady whose rash was becoming much more obviously prominent. “You know, my dog is like a child to me, I don’t think it’s right for people to have a problem with me bringing my dog into the store. People have little kids sitting in their grocery carts making more noise than my little sweetheart all the time, kids even break things in the store.”

“Really, I’m fine, I just need a couple filets,” the lady with the rash meekly stated as she turned her attention to the man behind the fish display, “the salmon please.”

At that point, I suddenly noticed that the second guy behind the fresh raw fish display was bending to the ground attempting to pull the small dog out of the shrimp setup. The little fluffy dog was running back and forth and jumping up and into areas of the fish display on the side of the counter where the fresh raw fish were open for the employees to reach, weigh, and pass over to the customers.

Laughing, the dog’s owner simply exclaimed, “oh, he loves shrimp, sorry about that, just add whatever he ate to my bill.”

Meanwhile, the lady with the rash was retracting her fish order, kindly explaining to the first employee that she didn’t know if she should be purchasing that salmon after all because she has an allergy to dogs and there was now dog hair all over the fish displays. Both the men behind the counter looked aggravated and dumbfounded, it was apparent that neither of them knew how to manage the situation. “Ma’am, can you please get your dog out of the fish area?” one of them asked the dog’s owner.

Visibly offended, she looked at rash-lady, “you’re not going to buy fish because my little sweetheart ate a few of the shrimp that are sitting next to it?”

“I just…” apologetically, and now inadvertently rubbing the rash that was growing down her legs, the lady attempted to explain why she must have been such a horrible person as to not want to eat dog hair, “I forgot I need to be somewhere, I’m so sorry for…” her words trailed off as she looked back and forth, finally allowing her eyes to drop to the floor and walked away submissively.

Wtf?

The dog-lady then turned her attention to the two employees behind the counter as they both scurried back and forth, bumping into and stumbling over each other, in an awkward attempt to stop the little dog, “Can you believe her? That dog is like my child! If my child ran behind the counter and touched the shrimp, I’ll bet she would have still bought the salmon!” With a thrust of her chin in an upwards direction, she strode behind the counter, picked up her dog, and huffed out a frustrated sigh, “the nerve of some people.”

Again… wtf?

At that point, I casually pretended I was looking at the cheese in the display behind me and edged myself away from the fish area. As I moved away from the scene, I heard one of the fish market employees timidly state to dog-lady, “um… you’re not really supposed to be back here unless you have a hair net on.”

That was fun. I do wonder why people are walking, carrying, or pushing dogs in strollers or in the child seat of the grocery cart while they’re in a grocery store or indoor fresh food market. And I’m not talking about service dogs, just pets. Is this normal? I took a week and just noted how many dogs were roaming around in the grocery stores that I attended. I started to do a little research into the rules of various stores, and I think Buc-ees is the only last standing place in the U.S.A. that has food and groceries and doesn’t allow, or even encourage, people to bring pets in their locations. That seems odd to me because, like the lady who decided not to order the fish, I don’t personally enjoy eating pet hair either.

Don’t get me wrong, I love my dog as much as the next person (apparently, as you can see in week #2, not as much as my cat loves my dog), but overall, I don’t think a pet’s place is walking through a grocery store, and definitely not running behind a fresh fish display, rolling around in, and eating the raw produce. And I don’t personally think that the correct lady was apologizing throughout the whole scenario, do you?

Wtf?

This week, I’ve seen and been aware of so many dogs walking around in grocery stores or being held against their owners in baby slings or carriers, sitting in the child seat of the cart, or being pushed in strollers, but I have to admit my all-time favorite sight was the dog who was stuffed right down the center of a lady’s bra with his little head sticking out between the “pillows.” Hahaha – that was a Wednesday sight to behold!

I wonder what next Wednesday will bring. Until then, enjoy dog-watching at your local grocery store or fresh food market! :-D I’ll bet you won’t be able to NOT notice now!!

Happy Wednesday!!