She said that each and every morning she goes to her local coffee shop for 20 minutes before work to gather her thoughts and chill before the madness of the day. Describing herself as a “dog lover,” she recognised that she’d probably be branded as a “hypocrite” for her views, but she said that she was sick of seeing pooches when she was having her coffee.
“Is it the time of day? I don’t know, but literally every table has at least one dog sitting still or barking or trying to walk around while the owner/walker is struggling.
“And this is a small space. I can always smell the animal next to me and not my coffee – there is a distinctive and not a pleasant smell,” the anonymous woman fumed on Mumsnet.
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She guessed that people would tell her to “go to another place,” but she said that it was the “same” in many local coffee shops, with dogs around.
“Once I tried politely asking a lady who joined my table just to steer her two huge dogs away from me, as one was waving his tail over my pastry brushing it in process,” she explained, but she said that it did not go down well, and she got dirty “looks” from the owner of the dogs, and a “neighbouring table”.
“These places are dog friendly, yes, but they are not dog only,” she fumed.
The woman was aware that what she thought may “offend” some, as she wrote: “I apologise if I offend anyone here. I know very well they are a part of the family for all of their owners, and dogs actually like me, often try and squeeze in and sit on my feet or just next to me (maybe part of the issue here) and if I was on a bench in the park fine, but I am eating or drinking coffee and the smell is just offensive.”
She wanted to know whether others found it an “inconvenience” to be around dogs in this way, or whether it was just her.
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In the comments, some defended the dog owners. One wrote: “There’s two sides to this. Yes, dog owners need to manage their dog’s behaviour, and they absolutely should. But the fact that the place is full of dogs tells you that A) it’s good for the cafe owner’s business and B) plenty of people do not mind loads of dogs in a cafe. You’re in a losing battle here. If you don’t like it, don’t go.”
Others said that she wasn’t “being unreasonable,” saying: “Dog owner here (but one who likes well-mannered/trained dogs). The world’s gone (dog) mad.” Another dog owner similarly wrote: “I agree, and I’m a dog owner. Too many people can’t and won’t control their dogs properly.”
Someone bluntly penned: “I don’t like dogs, and I don’t want them anywhere near me in food places.”
A Mumsnetter shared: “I’m not a fan of indoor eating with dogs. There are places I don’t go to now for this reason, but it’s obviously popular with lots of people.”
A dog lover said: “I love dogs but dislike them being allowed in cafes, restaurants and shops. It was only ever guide dogs, and we all understood that. Now, I can’t get a scone without tripping over a beautiful lab sprawled across the gap between tables.
Give me a dog lolloping around on the beach and the owner with a takeaway coffee in their hand any day. The number of times my friends who work in retail tell me about dogs peeing on stock…”
Do you mind dogs in cafes? Let us know in the comments…
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