Shopping with a dog? Many pet owners consider this a much better solution than tying up pets and leaving them in front of the store. Although the regulations are quite liberal and in most cases allow the possibility of entering a retail outlet with a pet, shop owners and other customers often do not like it. “Should I put the bread in the basket where a dog was sitting a moment ago?” It sucks, our reader complains.
dog in the shop
Once upon a time, the sight of dogs tied up in front of shops was very common and no one was surprised. Today, animal rights advocates are increasingly sounding the alarm that such behavior is unethical and that animals should not be left outside alone.
– First, anyone can steal a dog. Let’s keep in mind that the demand for purebred dogs is constantly growing, and the market price for such a pet can range from a few thousand to several thousand zlotys – Notes MarilynAnimal shelter worker. Secondly, dogs left without an owner may entice passers-by to pet or play. If the animal is not in the mood for this kind of entertainment, it can attack.
A dog in a shopping cart
Pet owners are reluctant to do this.
– I treat my dog \u200b\u200bas a member of the family and I can’t imagine that I can tie him up like that, – says the lady Teresa from Zabianka. “Besides, who cares if he comes to the store with me?” I watch him, he’s polite, and if no one meets him, he won’t bark. In addition, during big shopping in the hypermarket, I usually carry it in a shopping cart, so there is no way to threaten other shoppers, because it is too small to jump out of the cart.
Store customers, for whom transporting dogs in shopping carts is unsanitary and unacceptable, have a different opinion.
– a few weeks ago in the Spar’s store Gdansk Forum I saw an old woman who was carrying a dog in a stroller. The lady from the service immediately intervened and began to explain that you should not transport a pet in a stroller, where others put food, including, for example, bread (it is not known where this dog wandered and what it did before) – reports Except. The woman simply ignored it. She didn’t even answer when I called her. As if nothing had happened, she did her shopping, took the dog out and put the cart in place of the other carts, so that more customers could use it. Unaware that a moment ago a dog was sitting in it.
– When they put the kids in these strollers, no one bothers, – replies Teresa, who overheard our conversation. – Do you know where this or that goes when parents are not looking? Do they run on lawns? When they are put in strollers, no one takes off their shoes. It seems to me that those who hold dogs do so either out of jealousy or out of boredom. Get yourself a dog, stop being so bitter.
Higher price off the shelf than on the shelf? There is a penalty
Shopping with a dog: A dog holding hands is no longer a dog?
Also, more and more young people are going shopping with a dog.
– They come with such a dog, which is often strangely disguised, and keep it in a neat dog-bag, and they think that a dog held in the arm is not a dog – says he Martin, the owner of a deli grocery store. – We sell food by weight, so having pets in the store is out of the question. However, when we pay attention, customers get very upset. Excuses vary. It is a member of the family, not a quadruped, they explain, others that it is an animal not adapted to a solitary existence if left outside. One famous influencer said that this is an element of her design, that she works with her image, and that she can’t let go of it even for a moment. I personally apologized to each of them.
Sanepid: The store is responsible for food safety
In Polish law, we will not find a record expressly and categorically prohibiting entering a store with a dog. However, shops can and should impose such bans on their own to ensure the safety of the food they produce/put into circulation.
– In accordance with the hygiene requirements set forth in Regulation (EC) No 852/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on food hygiene, food must be protected from contamination at all stages of production, processing and distribution. In accordance with Annex II, Chapter point 4 of the above regulation, (…) appropriate procedures shall be in place to prevent pets from entering places where food is prepared or stored (or, if permitted by the competent authority in specific cases , to prevent them from causing pollution as a result of this access) “- he explains Zbigniew Zawadzkispeaker Sanitary and epidemiological station of the Voivodeship in Gdansk.
A Department of Health spokesperson explains that if food for sale in grocery stores is stored behind the counter, in a place that prevents access to pets, then the decision whether or not to allow or deny entry to consumers with pets to the store depends on the business owner (as there is no risk of food contamination ). It also confirms it Even if entrepreneurs decide to impose such a ban, it does not apply to dogs that help people with disabilities – Art. 59a of the Food and Nutrition Safety Act.
100 PLN for a head of cabbage. Errors in exit intentional or not?
To the dog store: In some stores, you’ll shop with your dog, while in others you won’t
As mentioned above, it is the entrepreneur who evaluates and decides whether or not a dog can enter his store. First of all, we asked the SPAR chain about the rules in place, because in their store our reader came across a dog.
She told us: “Dogs are not allowed in Spar stores.” Elizabeth Sadell From the SPAR Customer Service Team. About 4,000 people pass through the store each day. Client. In large waves of traffic, security, a manager or an employee simply cannot see everything, capture everything in such a large area with a large number of customers. The forum gallery does not help with this, because you can enter the center with your pet, so there is no possibility of additional verification, for example by the forum staff. Strollers and baskets are sanitized every day.
With animals, except for guide dogs, we will also not be shopping at the Pedrónca chain store. It should be noted here that dogs that assist the disabled must undergo a thorough examination before they are allowed into the store.
– At the entrance to each store of the Peedronca chain, there is a message informing, among other things, about the prohibition of bringing animals into the facility. The exception is people with disabilities who use guide dogs – in this case, there is a specific procedure that determines how to proceed – explains Magdalena Szymanska, Senior Director of Food Safety at the Pederonka Chain. – Every employee who notices a handicapped person with a guide dog intending to do shopping in the store or in its immediate vicinity is obliged to approach and provide the necessary assistance. Further actions depend on whether the dog’s owner has a health book containing current vaccinations and a document confirming the status of the guide dog. In this case, the guide dog accompanies its owner and store employee while shopping, who also reacts to the animal’s inappropriate behavior. In the absence of these documents, the dog is waiting for the owner, who goes shopping with the help of the store employee.
The situation is different in Żabka stores.
Our franchisees, as independent entrepreneurs, make their own decisions regarding whether customers can enter Żabka stores with their dogs. Press office in Żabka Poland. – Some people put bowls of water in front of their companions during hot weather to help thirsty animals. At the same time, we would like to point out that the dog owner bears the consequences of not having a leash and muzzle or the possible consequences of biting.
Discussions about leaving dogs in front of the store are even taking place on TikTok
