Dogs in Coffee Shops (NOT!)

[KatieH]

I’m distressed by the increasing number of dogs inside W Seattle coffee shops. I keep getting flea bites with my cup o’ Joe. This isn’t a benign annoyance; I am massively allergic to flea bites.

Dog lovers say that people have the ability to take preventive measures, whereas dogs can’t. I sure wish that would include the dog owners’ taking responsibility for giving their dogs anti-flea treatments.

If coffee places vacuumed religiously, maybe they could get rid of the flea population. Could they consider not having dogs inside? Or maybe vacuum the carpets and upholstered furniture a few times daily?

With the apparent rush by coffee shops to allow dogs, this human is running out of options for hanging out happily in my neighborhood.

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[trickycoolj]

Ugh that’s gross. I’m super reactive to insect bites too, I don’t like hearing this.

Freshman quarter at UW one of my roommates (shared the bunk above mine) had 8 cats at home in Port Orchard and kept the litter box in her bedroom closet. She went home every weekend and took all of her laundry with and kept bringing fleas back to our dorm room! We confronted her and she said whatever they’re just fleas. Yeah no. I’m allergic to cats and get big welts from bug bites, it’s not ok to bring fleas into a room shared by 4 people. The Resident Advisor and Resident Director of our hall didn’t know what to do, they have training for roommates that are stinky/unshowered but not about infestations. We lucked out that she dropped out of college over Christmas break to go home with her cats. No, fleas are not harmless to everyone, and many are allergic to dogs (and cats– also trendy at businesses these days), why can’t pets stay at home?

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[blbl]

You shouldn’t have to explain why dogs shouldn’t be in coffee shops. That’s just not ok. I stopped going to the West Seattle Farmers Market after they started letting dogs in and I saw a dog licking the cherries. What’s wrong with people?

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[wakeflood]

Clearly the trend – at least locally – appears to be “deal with it”.

I’m pretty sure that shortly I’ll be watching someone wandering down the aisle of some store with their ocelot in tow giving all the stink eye for even giving them a second look.

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[JanS]

hey, I’ve seen people at grocery stores with their dogs under their arms, on a leash, in their cart…

ocelots? not yet :D

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[angelescrest]

I’m not a fan of dogs in hair salons either. Uh…

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[TanDL]

blbl… did you report the dog licking to the “farmer” at the stand so they could remove the affected fruit and ask the dog owner to step away? I don’t think it’s fair to other stand owners to have to lose your business because of one irresponsible dog owner who wouldn’t control their dog. I frequent that Market and haven’t seen any problems with dogs there… so far.

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[PLS]

Bienvenue a Paris, mon ami. C’est la vie du chien.

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[angelescrest]

Je sais. Mais je ne suis pa habitue a ce.

Ick.

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[dhg]

Not just dogs….PEOPLE. We need to ban people. I saw one old guy with friends loudly declaring “That looks good.” He picks up the basil, jams it into his nose for a sniff and throws it back. “Oh yeah, that’s good” he says and walks on. I wanted to yell at him and say “Hey, you buy it once you put it in your nose” but I’m polite and did nothing.

It should go without saying you don’t know the history of the fruits and vegetables offered in the stands. Bare hands pick them, dogs pee on them, insects burrow. All manner of things happen to fruits and veggies. Take them home, wash them.

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[blbl]

TanDl, I talked to the folks running the market that day and they just essentially said, that’s gross – people should be more responsible. Not a satisfactory answer. And dhg, you really think people should be banned? While not pleasant, a man sniffing basil is not likely to have just sniffed some dog’s butt, but the dog absolutely just did. Dogs aren’t people.

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[KatieH]

I talked to one coffee shop owner about this today. She said only service dogs are allowed. The proprietors, however, are not allowed to ask about the nature of the disability or service. Unfortunately people take wicked advantage of this.

Dog owners seem to think the presence of their doggies is benign, if their pooch is nice. (It’s not).

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[dhg]

blbl, and other engineers who read this site: I am not to be taken literally as I frequently run to hyperbole. No, I do not think we should ban people from the market. That would be silly as the whole point of the market is to cater to people. I think people should be made to wear alpha-ray suits and be hosed down before entering the market.

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[anonyme]

Several years ago I was in the bulk section of what was then Larry’s Market. A mother was shopping with her toddler. The kid walked up to the chocolate bin, pulled out a slab, gave it a couple of big licks, and then went on to the next bin. Mom didn’t seem to mind.

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[pattilea]

We have a place in Port Townsend, and there are farmers markets twice a week. They have banned dogs from coming into the market area. And they enforce it. I love going now, in the past there were almost as many dogs as there were people. Business slowed for a week or so, but then built right back up!

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[JoB]

dogs aren’t the problem

people who don’t pay attention to where their dog is and what they are doing are the problem

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[blbl]

I’m there, pattilea!

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[goodgraces]

A couple of months ago I saw a couple in our Trader Joe’s with their (not small — shepherd sized) dog on leash with them as they shopped. He was not wearing a service dog vest and basically just looked like he was out for a walk with his people. I was in a checkout stand at the time and basically asked the employee “WTF?” and she said that they see that all the time there at TJs and that their policy is officially “No Dogs” but that they never enforce it. Uh . . . ????

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[au]

“dogs aren’t the problem” Yes, sometimes they are. Some people are very allergic to dogs, fleas.

Can anybody control when a dog decides to mark some territory?

I don’t want to deal with dog hair when I go out for coffee or groceries, at the park maybe but not in the grocery store, shopping mall, coffee shop…

I love dogs and a well trained dog has its place in society and its NOT at the table with us humans.

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[singularname]

Today’s dog-owner BS at the Fremont Market, from the vendors’ perspectives, within an 8-vendor radius:

Dog pissed on vintage hooked rug framed on antique ship planks ($45) and dog owner flees while being told to stop.

Dog pissed on stack of board games (~$30ish total) and dog owner casually beelines out before it hits us all what just happened (i.e., vendor wanted to verify what he thought he saw out of corner of eye–and verified).

Large boxer (so big I think it might have been a mix) allowed to lay *completely* in the middle of an aisle for ~10 to 15 minutes while people either stumbled over it or detoured quite a ways, while stupid owner just smiled and smiled. We are so incredulous, and use to this, and actually can’t believe these things play out, that we didn’t say anything because, you know, bitchfest would have ensued from her.

One snarling dogfight, and the dudes let their dogs sniff again. Pathetically pretend to discipline their pitbulls while weakly pulling them away from each other. This happens at least once EVERY week (not always pitbulls, to be clear, but I am unapologetically prejudiced against them because of irresponsible owners combined with their physical uber-strength attributes).

Oh, and the weekly Burmese, I believe, that STINKS LIKE A SEWER every single week, made his usual stroll through. It is almost gagging for me and I’m not typically affected by odors.

Two dogs allowed to just come up and nose me. I love dogs–I greatly dislike dog owners who think that’s okay without some form of communication that it’s okay.

Several larger dogs that strolled through with good behavior–they’re often in the way but that’s cool–and smaller dogs that are held are never a problem.

It was a great day at the market!

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[Cait]

singularname – snarling dog “fights” aren’t actually what they seem a lot of the time, as I learned from dog training classes. Dogs can get loud and growly without really being in a fight or getting even close to hurting each other. In that instance, if the owners seem OK, they know their dogs better than you do it’s probably better to just mind your own business on that one. I’m not going to touch the pitbull comment with a ten foot pole only to say that we are not on the same page.

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[JoB]

au..

i don’t know how to break this to you

dogs don’t come issued with a standard case of fleas

yes.. they do pick them up from time to time

but most responsible dog owners treat their pets regularly for not only fleas but heartworm…

and most responsible dog owners have their pets bathed more regularly than some of the people i encounter in coffee shops

and most pets accompanying their owners behave better than many of the people i encounter in coffee shops…

i will agree that too many people abuse the public trust when it comes to their furry friends..

but to blame dogs for their owners lapses doesn’t solve the problem.

any more than blaming children for their parent’s choice to give them attention only when they are misbehaving in public.

I can understand allergies.. but i am afraid i am not going to be so sympathetic there either as i can’t count the number of times i have had to leave a public space because someone evidently feared they would smell like a person and bathed themselves in fragrance :(

the problem isn’t dogs

the problem is people

people just like you and me who think their perceived rights trump yours and mine.

if you are only just now encountering them

you are a very lucky person indeed.

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[KatieH]

Well, yes, JoB, there’s a lot of special-caseness going around…

But I also think people genuinely don’t know that their dogs’ presence isn’t benign. Especially if they aren’t susceptible themselves to allergies, fears or other dog issues.

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[singularname]

Your characterization is incredibly misinformed, or misinterpreted, Cait.

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[jissy]

Time to get the popcorn out & pull up a chair.

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