Silliest place you’ve seen a dog owner take their dog

[Soddingcat]

To ask where the silliest / most inappropriate place you’ve seen a dog taken by the owner

Inspired by recent posts complaining about dogs being everywhere in cafes etc

Yesterday in our local Cathedral Easter service , a dog was taken up to the altar for communion with its owners. I’ve seen it all now 😃
I was unfortunately unable to see if they attempted to snaffle a bit of bread for the dog , but it honestly wouldn’t have surprised me
Just why ?

I've had dogs and children and dogs are infinitely cleaner than children!

Kids today are even worse, mums stuck on phones whilst the children run amok in shops, picking their noses and touching everything.

Give me a well behaved dog on a lead in a shop any day.

Shops my dogs sometimes go in are
Hobbycraft
Dunelm
B&Q
TK Maxx
Wickes

Completely agree that dogs shouldn’t be on the no-dog beach, and the toddler bit of the park if that’s the local bylaw.

But why not at the marathon?

Funerals/weddings, invitation only.

My dog is definitely part of my family and I’ll be bereft when he leaves us.

I'm thinking of the london marathon which (if you want to get a good view) you need to be in place a long time before it starts and involves a lot of standing around. There are barriers so the dog is unlikely to be able to see and it's very crowded. I can't see a dog enjoying that and can see it bothering other people.

I understand that you love your dog dearly, but technically they are not part of your actual human family.

I understand that you love your dog dearly, but technically they are not part of your actual human family

For some people, their dog is all the family they have. You have no right to dictate to someone else who or what they see as family. It has no affect on your life whatsoever.

For many dogs are family, some even preferred to human relatives. They’re loyal, loving, and always there when we need them.

Why is it silly to see dogs in cafés, weddings, or funerals? If they’re allowed, they’re welcome, and plenty of people are glad to see them. Letting a dog say goodbye to their owner at their funeral or walk down the aisle is the owner’s choice.

Marathons and no-dog beaches? Fair enough. But a calm pup under the café table? They’re just minding their own business and those with separation anxiety, thankful they’re not left home alone.

I did not include cafes in my list (if allowed). I did not mention weddings. I mentioned funerals (but not assumed). I think we are in agreement.

Fair enough. I am a scientist and am being literal about the definition of family.
It only impacts my life if someone treats their dog as a human and think they're entitled to be where humans are e.g. strolling into a nursing home or hospital, sitting on the train seat when people are standing.

I remember seeing a documentary about John Lewis. Some woman had a dog with her and walked blithely away from the turd he left behind. Guess it was someone else's job to pick it up....

Family has always been found. This has always been true regardless of context
Very rarely throughout history have people lived solely with nuclear immediate genetic family

Within science we know this. Is why there was a push to seperate id twins via adoption for studies. Because we know that often social family has just as big an out come as genetics.

I'm dual trained as a family therapist and within our family trees (geonagrams) there's a symbol for pets!

Dogs can't be on train seats whether or not there are people standing. It's a condition of carriage that they are on the floor, either in a pet carrier or on a lead.

The dogs going into nursing homes and hospitals tend to be Pet as Therapy dogs.

Indeed - animals who have gone through various checks and rigorous training to ensure they behave in a appropriate manner.

I was referring to Gustavo77 who has said there is no silly place for dogs to be i.e. they can be wherever humans are. I do not think this is the case.

Exactly - dogs cannot be wherever humans can be. Again Gustavo77 said there was no such thing as a silly place for dogs to be. I am giving examples of where you can't just turn up with your dog and expect it to be treated as if it was human.

Breast screening - well the Portakabin thing they had in the car park, to be fair she asked and the nurse said no and it was taken out by her friend.

OK. I think people know that I mean 'family' in the human sense. I understand that people regard their dogs as their family.

Do those people think if they get an invitation "to Rose and Family" it would mean Rose, the people in her family and her dog? I'm not talking about people who know you treat your dog as a person, but in general

Is that you mum? If so hello from your daughter and granddaughter, you know your actual family.....

Opticians
Dentist

I don't have kids. I live alone with my dog.

I am also a scientist and you didn’t mention the word ‘human’ in your first post about family.

My dog is not a blood or marital relative - but my definition of family is not so narrow to preclude those I hold dear.

I share my home with a partner with whom I have no shared DNA, nor marital vows. They are still my family, and I don’t think being a different species excludes my dog, either.

People are quick to assume those of us who bring our dogs to ‘human’ places are doing it because we are trying to anthropomorphise them, whereas in reality it is usually a mixture of convenience and enjoying their company.

My dog loves me and loves being with me - as I do him. I hold him in greater regard than any stranger’s wishes, regardless of our shared species.

. I hold him in greater regard than any stranger’s wishes,
This is the level of selfishness that seems to much more prevalent now.
‘Bugger everyone else’s comfort and security / I’ll just do what I want’
Interesting article today in the Guardian about the increasing syndrome people incapable of forming human relationships use dogs as a substitute.

I didn’t say that, though, did I?

I will take my dog anywhere I want to where he is permitted. I don’t take him places that aren’t dog friendly, I don’t let him off lead when he’s not allowed to be.

But I don’t care about strangers who pull faces or grab their kids in horror as he runs past them (rare - most of the time I’m having to step between kids and him as they try to touch him - he won’t harm them but I think it’s important kids learn they can’t touch random dogs without asking).

I don’t care about random people’s wish my dog be elsewhere - why would I?

If they don’t want to be in proximity to dogs, they should go somewhere dog free.

I’d turn it around and say anyone demanding the removal or modified behaviour of dogs in a space they are welcome in, is massively selfish.

Did you actually read the article? If it's the one I've linked to here then it seems that you have really misunderstood the study it references... it says nothing about "people incapable of forming human relationships use dogs as a substitute"

"The study suggests owners rate their relationship with their dogs as being as satisfying or more satisfying than their closest human relationships. However, the researchers did not find the owner-dog bond was stronger in people with weaker human relationships.

“Our results showed that it [the bond] does not replace human relationships but offers something different, a unique combination of characteristics to complement what we receive from the human side of our social network,” said Borbála Turcsán, first author of the study from Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary."

Looks like you’re part of the very selfish problem

Missing quoted post so reposted.

So only assistance dogs for the blind snd deaf? What about all the other ones? My friend has epilepsy and an assistance dog trained to alert her when she is about to have a seizure so she can sit/lie down and make sure she doesn’t bang her head or anything. There are assistance dogs for all sorts of medical issues. It’s very ignorant of you to say that it’s only for deaf and blind people. You don’t think seizure dogs (or all the other types) are necessary?