Today in Aldi

[User884721]

a woman asked me to hold her dog at the checkout while she packed her shopping. Was I BU to say no?

The woman in front of me was unloading her trolley onto the conveyor belt with one hand and holding a dog under her other arm. Is it a pug, the one with the squashed up face? Anyway, it wasn't happy and was wriggling around.

She asked if I could hold the dog so she could pack her shopping properly in her bags. I said no. She said she couldn't put the dog on the ground because it didn't like the feel of the floor under its feet. I still said no. She then took absolutely ages making a point of packing her shopping with one hand. At the checkout. While holding a dog.

The checkout operator told her dogs were not allowed in Aldi and she replied "well that's why I'm carrying her". Nothing more was said.

I know mumsnet will probably be divided into those who would be delighted to hold a stranger's dog then pack up their loose fruit and veg. I'm not one of those people.

Would you have held her dog?

Is that a thing?

To answer some questions-

I didn't make it up. Such a thing wouldn't even occur to me. I posted because I wanted to tell dh all about it when I got home but he was on the phone.

I don't hate dogs. I love them outdoors in fields and on beaches. Turns out I hate being asked to hold them in supermarkets.

I am in the UK and it's not very warn at all here today. The dog had a little jacket on.

You are meant to pack quickly then take your time to sort everything out at the bench. But no-one ever really does anything about it if you're slow, and the checkout person certainly wasn't going to cross her again.

I don't know if the dog walked on other surfaces or if it just didn't like the Aldi floor.

And I don't know for sure if it was a pug. It was small and round and had a squashed up face. I didn't look any more closely than that.

I didn't see any sign of wee or poo or smell anything particularly doggy.

I would actually have loved to see it running on the conveyor belt but no-one was brave enough to suggest it.

I've never seen a parrot in a supermarket. I can't believe 2 people on here have.

Apparently so, because of their temperament and portability.

I think I would have been so shocked I probably would have held it. I do like dogs though.

I sometimes admire the audacity of people as I am very rules bound.

Do you live in Merseyside?
I've seen a bloke a few times in shops with 1 or 2 parrots on him! (Same bloke, just different parts of Merseyside!)

I saw a dog take a shit on the floor in M&S. I was really shocked. The security guy said it happens more and more often. He said that a woman’s dog had puked on the floor and all the staff refused to clean it up. Absolutely fair enough in my opinion! Why should retail staff have to clean up dog mess. Disgusting!

Er, no. Just no. I wouldn’t have wanted to hold some random dog that presumably does walk around on the floor outside before manhandling all the food we’d be eating into bags because that’s just gross

wondering why she didn't just put it in a trolley?

😅

I love dogs. I have three.

I would not take them into a supermarket, and I certainly wouldn't try to impose on someone else.

(However I adore pugs and would have taken the dog, abandoned my shopping and sprinted for the exit.)

I would have held the dog, but it wouldn't encourage me to bring mine to fetch the groceries.

I haven't seen any parrots in supermarkets, but a few years ago someone had brought their pet meerkat to FarmFoods. It was very cute, but it made me sad to think about a meerkat being kept as a pet - I somehow don't think it's good for them 😞

I’m very much a dog person but the dog shouldn’t have been in a supermarket in the first place and no I wouldn’t hold her dog.
In 50+ years of owning dogs I’ve never had to take one into any shop.

It’s a no from me .

They've only got quite small paws so it wouldn't be very comfortable in a metal trolley and might find their legs fall through 😯

Because other people put their shopping in the trolley and don't want a dogs a**e to have been there first. Geez !!

No, Dublin.

I would have taken it and not given it back!

I'm a very doggy person but you are absolutely not being unreasonable. There are many, many sensible reasons why it's not sensible to have a dog in Aldi. You are not obligated to hold or otherwise interact with another person's dog either.

I love dogs but would never take mine into the supermarket. I find it odd when people take dogs shopping with them. Like Selfridges..

I would have held the dog for her though.. or packed her shopping. A little kindness goes a long way

I wouldn't want to do anything that made pug ownership easier on anyone.

I would not have held her stupid dog, and I would have complained to store management. Pet dogs (including 'emotional support dogs') don't belong in food shops.

I would probably also have stood there tapping my foot, looking at my watch, sighing, etc, because I am a raging arsehole.

I would not have held the dog.

Not the same thing, but it reminded me of an incident a good few years ago.

I was waiting in a bus queue and a woman asked me to hold her baby whilst she collapsed her pushchair. No problem!
And then she didn't take the baby back until the bus came...25 minutes later.
In my defence, I was a teenager. I felt like perhaps I 'should' enjoy holding a stranger's baby, and I felt more awkward the more time passed.

Edited to add - I would not have held the dog.

Then she can leave her dog in the car with the window ajar, or tie it up by its lead to a bollard out of the way of people walking by, or just manage until she was without her dog.

Unless a registered Guide Dog, dogs should not be in food shops. At all.

I'm going asda tomorrow might take my goldfish out for a walk and some fresh air.