Is this a coffee shop or a kennel?

So what is the deal with dogs?

More and more I am seeing dog-friendly places.

Which is fine, unless it’s somewhere:
- Enclosed- meaning I have to smell the mutt(s).
- I eat- meaning I have to watch my plate and eat around a damn animal.
- I just feel imposed upon.

I had a dog as a kid. He was a Cocker Spaniel named Tiny. Looking back on it, I was a bad dog owner. Tiny was untrained, barked at anything and was pretty dirty.

I still look back fondly on him. He was a great dog, but I don’t remember the family ever taking him to the grocery store or to dinner at a restaurant.

Maybe my family and I were the odd ones.

Perhaps we were cruel and unusual owners. For most families, a pet is like another member of the family. I’m sure if my parents had left my infant brother at home because he wasn’t potty-trained, more than a few eyebrows would have been raised.

So why leave your dog at home (or at least tied-up outside) when going out for a fine meal? Mostly because my infant brother didn’t lick himself at the table.

There are places and times for pets. I am not saying banish pets from any public space. I am just saying pet owners: GET A CLUE. Though it may feel like a part of the family, it’s not a person.

For example, pets aren’t allowed in hospitals. They are unsanitary. So why should I be subjected to eating around your dog?

Side note: Dog-people seem to be the biggest offenders, though I’ve seen some odd bird people, too,

Anyway, I am not saying I hate pets. I have had my fair share in the past.

I am just saying that in much the same way you are agreeing to a moral contract to take care of the animal you are purchasing/adopting, you too are agreeing to a social contract that you that you will respect others when out and about with your animal.

If that means you can’t get your morning cup of coffee, so be it. You knew what you were getting into when you got your animal.