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I fully support service and/or genuine therapy dogs in public with their owners. However, I am increasingly annoyed at dog owners who bring their pets into supermarkets, clothing stores, etc.  When I was a kid, we learned that dogs and other pets could not come into markets. Why do so many people these days think it's OK to subject the rest of us to their dogs, just because THEY love them and want to take them everywhere? Also, the "training = oppression" mentality of some freewheeling dog owners means there is no recourse if the animal misbehaves. I've lived in Europe and it is quite different there; people bring dogs into more venues, but usually small ones only, and usually they are very well-trained. On a personal level, I don't like the way dogs smell, and I don't like being snuffled and drooled on by them. On the level of hygiene, I don't want to have their butts in a shopping cart I might use (hello, E. coli?) Most seriously, though it may be rare, dogs can bite, especially in crowds.  Why do the owners of large, pet dogs see nothing wrong with subjecting the rest of us to their selfish behavior?

posted 3 years, 4 months ago
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