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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Pets at home - essential trip?

58 replies

Usernamenumber6373 · 10/01/2021 11:13

Hi all, my dog got out of her harness today and has done a couple times this week. We’ve had it for a while with no problems. It’s just a cheap one from Argos so I assume it’s just stretched or damaged. She’s quite small and even when it’s pulled tighter she’s managed to get out.

Our nearest pets at home is half hour away - no smaller pet shops in the area anymore (probably killed off by the larger stores). Aibu to think a trip to pets at home is essential?

I mean we could get one delivered but it means no walks for a few days for a very energetic jrt. She could just go with a lead on her collar but she hates that.

Trying to get into their website but in a queue and couldn’t get on!

Aibu? They are open so essential right?

Scared I’ll get pulled over 😢

OP posts:
Lockheart · 10/01/2021 11:15

You're scared you'll get pulled over?

With the best will in the world, pull yourself together.

If you need something then you need something.

HorseDentist · 10/01/2021 11:16

Do you not have any local independent pet shops?
An hour and a half is definitely not local.
Pets at home really don't have the best range of harnesses either. There are plenty online or shop local.

Madmoxxi · 10/01/2021 11:17

Everything is half hour from me so I don't consider it very far.

Lougle · 10/01/2021 11:18

30 minutes is fine. Pet shops are essential.

Winterwoollies · 10/01/2021 11:19

Please get a grip. I mean that kindly. You have a legitimate reason to be out. Why would you worry about being pulled over?

If you were pulled over (which you won’t be) just say you’re going to Pets at Home to buy dog food. But you don’t need to lie. Mainly because you won’t be pulled over but also because you have a legitimate reason to be out.

PinkiOcelot · 10/01/2021 11:21

Just go. If you did happen to get pulled over (highly unlikely) you could say you were going for food. That’s essential right?

schmockdown · 10/01/2021 11:21

I would order online only because I was at PAH yesterday and they had no stock at all. Ddog needs a new harness and there was literally nothing there.

Original poster
Usernamenumber6373 · 10/01/2021 11:23

Thanks all. Yes half an hour away ish. 15 miles.

I live in the middle of nowhere. Nearest town is 8 miles but small, no pet shops so need to go further afield. Live in Cornwall so there’s no shops on every corner and have to travel to get stuff we need. 🤣

@schmockdown interesting, thank you! I’m trying to get on their website to see if I can click and collect!

OP posts:
Original poster
Usernamenumber6373 · 10/01/2021 11:25

@HorseDentist 30 minutes, half an hour not an hour and a half 😀

OP posts:
Skyliner001 · 10/01/2021 11:25

Walking your dog safely is essential.

Fizbosshoes · 10/01/2021 11:26

I went to pets at home yesterday to get flea treatment for our cats. The local pet shop didnt have what we needed. Pets at home had someone limiting how many whole family outings people were allowed in at a time.

chairthistle · 10/01/2021 11:26

If I was you I think I would order one from an online shop rather than let myself get that anxious about going out.

22Giraffes · 10/01/2021 11:26

You will be fine, I have been to Pets at Home several times throughout the lockdowns, my guinea pigs need essential items like hay and food! If it makes you feel better then just think that your dog escaping her harness could be a danger to her or others so it is essential you replace it.

Godimabitch · 10/01/2021 11:27

Definitely essential. Dog walks are essential reasons to leave your home, your dog cant walk safely without a harness. Harness is essential.

audweb · 10/01/2021 11:28

I don’t even know why you are questioning this. You need to walk your dog safely. Just go get what you need, the police are not going to give you into trouble for that.

BlackberrySky · 10/01/2021 11:28

You are going to buy an essential item from the closest place that sells it. This shop is legally allowed to be open. Please get some perspective.

Livelovebehappy · 10/01/2021 11:34

Of course it’s essential. Just go. Our dryer has packed up and we can’t afford a new one so have bought one off eBay, used, from someone 10 miles away. We’re going to collect it today. It could be argued that I can dry clothes on radiators, but that causes damp/ condensation, or that we could wear dirty clothes for the next couple of months of lockdown. But as far as I’m concerned clean and dry clothes are essential, so we’re going.

Moondust001 · 10/01/2021 11:35

@BlackberrySky

You are going to buy an essential item from the closest place that sells it. This shop is legally allowed to be open. Please get some perspective.
To be fair, on a site where hundreds, if not thousands, of posters each day are celebrating women bening arrested for sitting on park benches, travelling five miles for a socially distanced walk, and denouncing their neighbours , colleagues, friends, family and every other poster for killing people by setting foot outside their door, Mumsnet is conceivably not the place anyone should come for perspective...
Original poster
Usernamenumber6373 · 10/01/2021 11:38

@Livelovebehappy absolutely. I couldn’t cope without my dryer!

OP posts:
Crappyfridays7 · 10/01/2021 11:43

My pets at home is 10 minutes away we took our puppy to get a harness a few weeks ago but none fit properly.
I ordered a t touch harness from the muttyproffesor
Came the next day. No chance of him getting out of it and very comfy

Jessbow · 10/01/2021 11:43

Try wilkinsons, they have a reasonable selection and do C&C

My JRT fits their small

vanillandhoney · 10/01/2021 11:45

It's fine. Pet shops are an essential service.

Ignore all the melodrama from posters who think everyone should lock themselves indoors until June.

GETTINGLIKEMYMOTHER · 10/01/2021 11:58

A faulty harness could be very dangerous - the dog running into the road could cause a serious accident, so of course it’s essential.
I say with feeling - as someone whose dog’s leather collar broke right after we’d crossed a busy road.

IfTheSockFits · 10/01/2021 11:58

Pet shops are allowed to stay open as they are essential. So a trip to visit one is essential also.

Don't worry about it.

Glitterblue · 10/01/2021 12:01

DH went to Pets at Home the other day because the snake needed food. It was fine, nobody stopped him. A dog harness is essential because you need to walk your dog safely.