Yellow Rain

[Lore]

or

Please do NOT let your dog urinate in our shop!

So, just a bit of background first. I work at a liquor store, and since I started over two years ago, I haven't heard any rules regarding allowing animals in the shop. I know that we've allowed dogs in the past, particularly the purse-dwelling sort, and occasionally a kitten. I always assumed that since all product is closed, and we are a privately-owned shop, we could set the rules as we like.

The other thing to know is that on a rug near the front doors we have two small potted trees. I think you can see where this is going.

Well, today, in the midst of a small rush, this particular twit came ambling in with a bulldog. Lovely animal at first glance, a handsome brindled (the dog, not the twit.) As I turned to greet him, he immediately started making excuses:

Twit (SC): "It's okay if I bring him in, right? I don't want to leave him outside; it's okay, right?"

Me: "Oh, yeah, sure, whatever..."

I started to turn back to my other customers, but something made me glance back again, and I saw, to my shock, that the dog had lifted a leg and was pissing on one of the potted trees!

Me: "HEY! STOP THAT!"

Twit immediately called his dog, making whiny, incessant apologies. I tuned him out, believing that once the dog was away from the trees, all would be well.

Not so.

Only a minute later, while I was in the midst of serving Twit, I happened to look around to see what his dog was up to. And what his dog was up to was peeing on our bagged snack display!

Me: "HEY! COME HERE! STOP THAT!"

Twit: "OH, I'm so sorry, I don't know what's up with him. Sorry. I'll buy you a beer...?"

Me: "No, it's... fine." Said in a voice that I hope implied that it was fine like an icepick through the eye is a minor irritation.

I don't know why I let him off easy - I'm known for not putting up with nonsense from customers. I think it was that I was in shock, and also that I just wanted him the get the hell out of my shop before more damage was done. I could feel my cheeks burning with rage for ten minutes after he left. And, to make it even better, I had a steady line-up, so it took me a good while to finally be able to run to the back for cleaner and a mop.

And that was literally only an hour after the Worksafe BC inspector had passed through.

More on the rest of my week in another post.

[bhskittykatt]

My dog once peed on some wares in a pet shop once. But Hubs apologized profusely (he was the one attached to the other end of the leash) and offered to clean it up. And as I stated, we were in a pet shop, not a place where there would be people-food to urinate on! (I forget what my dog peed on, but it was something that fortunately wiped clean...if it hadn't, I would have offered to pay for the item.)

[Lore]

(I forget what my dog peed on, but it was something that fortunately wiped clean...if it hadn't, I would have offered to pay for the item.)

That's a huge thing for me - if a person does the right thing and sincerely offers to pay for the damage done, it goes a long way towards my forgiving them.

[barainga]

This sort of reminds me of my time at Mal-Wart when people would let their kids destroy displays all over the store... and sadly there was more than one occasion when the speshul snowflakes would actually pee on something that wasnt in the bathroom. One little cherub took out and entire display of glass objects, I think it was in house wares perhaps canning jars. Was a while back, but this was the third or fourth time we had had trouble with these people. Management actually made mommy dearest pay for it this time.
Why yes, the local PD was involved in making her pay for it? How'd you know? She was still banned from the store for life, but she managed to avoid formal charges. To no one's shock, this lady had already been banned from half the stores in town for similar occurrences.

Of course we also had our fair share of people sneaking their little dogs into the store and would act all but hurt when they were told they had to take the animals out. At least they kept the animals in their purses (it was almost never a man sneaking in a dog).

[Kristev]

The Wal-Mart I worked at wouldn't stand up to anyone with an animal. They'd just call me when some purse dog would relieve itself in the grocery isle.

[Lore]

They'd just call me when some purse dog would relieve itself in the grocery isle.

Wow... but couldn't WM get sued if someone caught them allowing animals in the groceries? Even worse that they made you clean it...

Also, I always wondered, don't those nervous little purse goblins ever relieve themselves in said purses? They must. And considering all the expensive stuff girls keep in their bags these days... yikes.

[Sleepwalker]

My mom used to carry week old kittens in her shirt pocket when we went to the store. Noone ever knew they were there.

[sms001]

That's a huge thing for me - if a person does the right thing and sincerely offers to pay for the damage done, it goes a long way towards my forgiving them.

(emp. added)

Ditto that. And the flip side: you can just TELL when taking them up on their "Oh, I'm sorry, do you want me to..." is gonna be hell-on-earth.

. . .nervous little purse goblins. . . .

gold

[Dreamstalker]

My mom used to carry week old kittens in her shirt pocket when we went to the store. Noone ever knew they were there.

A regular customer once brought a three-week-old pitbull puppy into the store; understandably they didn't want to keep her in the car, but they wanted someone to watch her. While mom and daughter shopped, the fuzzy got hidden in FEM's shirt and was fawned over by the rest of the front end

[depechemodefan]

regular customer once brought a three-week-old pitbull puppy into the store; understandably they didn't want to keep her in the car, but they wanted someone to watch her.

This reminds me when I found a kitten on the side of the road. I don't know what happened to it, but more likely it fell out of a car (maybe hiding under the hood) and might have gotten run-overed, because when I tried to pick it up, it was panting and there were ants on it. After scratching me and hobbling away 2x, I finally got a towel I had in the car and was able to pick it up.

Anywhoo, I was in a part of town that I thought had an animal shelter. I stopped at a Petco or Petsmart. I didn't want to take the kitten inside (might hurt me, might hurt him) so I left the window open went inside and asked if they knew of an animal shelter. They gave me a number of a no-kill cat shelter but they stopped taking animals. Finally went back home, placed the poor thing in a cat carrier and called my local animal shelter to pick him up. Don't know the final result but it's probably more humane then him being left outside in the sun, being eaten by ants.

[telecom_goddess]

My mom used to carry week old kittens in her shirt pocket when we went to the store. Noone ever knew they were there.

oh how cuuuuuuuuuuute is that! Hopefully not for long though as I'm sure the mother kitty was freaking out

[Sleepwalker]

No, we were part of a cat rescue organization, and we sorta 'specialized' in motherless nursing kittens. We'd have boxes of them everywhere, and the ones without siblings/really young we'd carry around to make sure they stayed warm- they had a habit of getting 'stuck' on the heating pad, or rolling off it, and getting chilled or overheated.

We kept a few, and when they were bad, my mom would say to them, 'now we know why your mother left you behind'.

[emax4]

You should follow the "Do unto others" rule by whipping it out and peeing on the dog. I KEEED, I KEEED! (Triumph the Insult Comic Dog)

[PepperElf]

you know, i once brought my dog into a roller derby venue but asked permission first. they said it was OK as long as the dog wasn't going to make a mess. but... i made a point of walking her FIRST before I even tried to go inside.

and our dog knows better than to pee inside.

except at petsmart. i suspect it's all the excitement and the smell of other dogs' pee... but we clean up after her.