Have you noticed how many more dogs there are around? Maybe it’s just because more people with dogs are taking their dogs places and doing things for their dogs.
That became clear while walking into a shopping mall Hallmark store over the weekend. There it was. One of the displays of Christmas gifts, cards, toys, stuffed animals and holiday crafts was an all-about-dogs display. Gifts for dogs, gifts about dogs, and placards with sayings about dogs.
The visit to Hallmark was followed by a walk to get some dinner and seeing shoppers with their dogs strolling along with them looking at store windows and decorations.
Then it was time to sit down on the outdoor patio at a favorite restaurant. It didn’t take long for some folks with a leash in hand and a dog at the other end of it to walk onto the patio and be seated at a table with the dog plopped down next to the table.
It used to be that dogs were not allowed in any restaurant, indoor or outdoor. But with laws that allow restaurants to have areas cleared for dogs, you see more of them, chomping away on maybe a bone while you’re eating your dinner not that far away.
And these aren’t service dogs. Sure you see some of them and they are obviously necessary for some people. But most of the dogs you see now in some malls, stores and restaurants are not service dogs.
And you don’t have to not like dogs to become irritated by all the dogs everywhere. There are people who are allergic to dogs and there are people who have been bitten and are very afraid of dogs.
It’s not easy these days to say you don’t like dogs but some dog owners need to know you’re not crazy about some of them either.
(Photo Getty Images)