And now to offend my pet-owning friends

The other day I was in Sam's club and there was a lady there with her dog. The dog was in the baby seat of her cart. She was standing at the food counter laughing and feeding her dog pieces of her pretzel. I admit, it was a very cute dog, but I was amazed at how this woman was flaunting it a place that was clearly inappropriate for pets. It seems more and more often pets are showing up in public places that are not designated for pets. I see them in the mall, grocery store, Home Depot. It drives me crazy. Your pet is not an accessory, it is an animal and for many reasons you should leave it at home when running your errands.

1. Some people have a very real fear of animals. Whenever I see someone with their dog in a public building, I think about people I know who would freak out regardless of the dog's size or cuteness. Even if the fear is irrational, people should be able to go to a store and not worry about dealing with their fear of animals.

2. Cleanliness. I realize you may not be disgusted sharing food with your pet or kissing them on their mouths or having their hair all over your clothes, but not everyone feels that way. By nature, animals are dirty. They lick themselves and everything around them, they sniff and scratch all manner of vileness, and their version of cleaning up after going to the bathroom often involves getting their feet in it. There is also the constant shedding. Please note that most of us do not want all those germs and hair in our grocery store.

I understand many people feel differently about pets and cleanliness, and if I'm in your pet-friendly home, I will be respectful that you've chosen to live in filth (joking, settle down.) However, if you have a cat, I will not eat anything made in your kitchen. You may think those fresh-out-of-the-litter-box paws aren't on your counter tops, but I assure you that when you're not around, your cat is on the kitchen counter. I remember one of my dad's employees used to make candy for the office during the holidays. More than once, we found cat hair in the candy. Ick.

3. Allergies. I am allergic to animals, cats mostly, and I know people who have strong allergies to many animals.  I don't expect people to de-pet their home for me to come over. I know that if I am going to someone's home who has animals, I may have to take Benadryl, or not stay long. But I think people should be able to have a reasonable expectation that when they go to the grocery store they will not have an allergy attack. My sister has allergies. She does nails out of her home and a couple of her clients bring their dogs with them to their appointments. I am baffled that people are not more considerate of other people's space. It's like a pet-owner bubble where they can't see anything beyond their own feelings for their animal.

4. Not everyone likes to be licked and/or pounced on. I've been hiking with friends who bring their dog. I get that the dog wants to run around outside and I don't generally have a problem with it. What drives me crazy is when their dog runs through a stream or mud and then jumps all over me, and the owner just laughs like the dog is so cute. I realize the dog is just doing what dogs do, my bigger issue is the response from the owner. Many don't attempt to keep their dog from ambushing everyone they encounter or offer an apology when they do.

I have met some very responsible owners who watch their animals and are respectful that not everyone is a pet-person. I appreciate these people. I have met a handful of dogs that I have really liked. I'm pretty sure it's because the owners are responsible and took the time to discipline their pets. Once I had a friend bring her dog cross-country skiing with us. I was worried because skiing is much better when you have a good track to ski in, and dogs notoriously pounce all over the ski trail ruining the nice track. This friend had trained her dog to stay off the ski tracks. It was great. I actually enjoyed having him along with us. My friend was always aware of what her dog was doing and was very respectful of everyone whom we encountered on the trail. Consequently, I love her dog. I would almost consider owning a dog if it was like hers. There is such a huge difference between well disciplined pets and those who are not.

This may seem like I'm an animal-hater, I assure you I am not. I understand that pets add a great deal to some people's lives, which I think is great. To clarify, it's not pets that I have the problem with, it's some pet owners. Too many are not willing to put forth the time and effort to discipline their pets and don't consider anyone else when parading their animals all over town. It seems to be getting worse and I am baffled that store owners and patrons don't make a bigger deal of it.