Leaving dogs outside stores

Shopping in a small strip mall near home yesterday, I noticed two lovely dogs - appeared to be golden retrievers - tied up to a bike rack. They seem agitated, were whining.. and wet ( it had been snowing lightly) About 10 feet away was a Rottie also tied up, who seemed calm and collected.
I mentioned these dogs to the clerk in the drug store. She said the rottie had been there just a few minutes, but the goldens had been tied there for almost 3 hours! I was shocked and angered. She said they were thinking of calling the SPCA.. and I totally agreed and encouraged her to do so.
She'd talked to the dogs owner when he first left them, and found him a bit "wierd". When she commented on how lovely they were, he offered to sell them to her for five dollars..She wasnt sure if this was a joke or not. Strange comment at any rate.

Just then, the man and woman arrived to collect them and being confronted about leaving their dogs unattended for so long...they became very defensive and denied they did anything wrong. He said they were at the medical clinic next door. For 3 hours? My suspicion is that they were actually at the pub that's in the same area. He said they'd been "checking" on the dogs periodically.

When I offered that this was unfair to sujbect the dogs to this stress and discomfort, and that they were in danger of being harmed or even stolen.. he acted like I was crazy.
He told me they were "used to this"..were tied up all day while he was at work. Oh...it gets worse. :mad:

I reminded him that here its illegal to leave dogs tied up outdoors for prolonged and extended times.. no matter where it is, and is cruel.
He became very angry at this, so I decided to end this confrontation and walked away.
This guy was not about to be listen to reason, I could see.
I hope he at least "thought" about it later.
Poor dogs cant pick their caretakers. I felt very sad for these beauties.:sad:

I have a tiny dog - could never and would never leave him anywhere. If he cant go where I am going, he stays home.

I do see larger dogs outside stores from time to time, though.
Obviously only an idiot would leave dogs for three hours, but even if its just for a few minutes, they are at the mercy of those who may encounter them.
It seems like there is danger on both sides.
For your dog, who could be bothered or even harmed, and for the public, who dont always use common sense.

I wondered what your thoughts were on this practice in general?

That is absolutely crazy. The store clerk should have called the SPCA after a half hour, let alone one hour. Especially this time of year. If I was you, I would talk to that store and other businesses in the area and if they see these people again to report them to the authorities right away. Having a pet is a privilege, not a right and in saying that, they should respect them.

I have never left my dog tied up anywhere. I have a fear she could be stolen from me. If I did have to leave her tied up, I would probably be looking out the window every 10 seconds to make sure everything is ok.

that's terrible! I can honestly say I have never seen that - people in my area just don't tie dogs up outside stores. I can barely leave my pup in my car for 2 minutes while I run into a convenience store - if I absolutely have to, I park so I can see my car, alarm it, and I'm in and out as fast as humanly possible. Tying my dog up outside would NEVER cross my mind - even when we took him on vacation and stolled up/down main streets w/ cute shops, either I went in, or my bf went in, our dog was NEVER unattended.

My doggies only get left outside stores when I can see them the WHOLE time (which is under 3 minutes). Otherwise, they don't come.

same here. only leave my boy tied out if i know my errand will take less than 5 minutes AND i can see him pretty well. and even then, i'm terrified i'll come out and he'll be gone :eek: big goof is too friendly with everyone :sad:

i will often ask shop owners if i can bring my dog in because i am scared he will be stolen, and 75% of them say "no problem". never hurts to ask.

also what i can't understand are people who leave their *aggressive* dogs tied out on a public sidewalk, where there are other dogs walking, and small children, and old people with canes, etc - that is just stupid. once i saw a big dog tied out who attacked two little pocket dogs an old lady was walking, it was horrible -she almost got bitten trying to scoop her little ones up. :mad:

I see this quite often downtown ottawa. I did notice not too long ago that Chapters had a dog post outside their front doors.

I can't stand this - and because the dogs tied up are always so happy to see me, I have been yelled at by passers by for tying "my" dog to the post! No way would I tie my dog outside of a store - for one he would bite through his leash in 2 seconds - all 22 lbs. of him with teeth of a Rotti - or he would be stolen or someone would try and pet him, pull his ears etc. and he might fear bite them. We have had more leashes than I can bear to mention.

Oh I love getting the misdirected anger! (sarcasm) One day there was a little dog in a buick in temps near 40 degrees with the humidigy... He was in there for a long time and I was trying to see if any of the doors were unlocked and if he had any water, and I got so many angry comments! He wasn't my dog! I was trying to help him out! :rolleyes: People are so quick to judge. Sorry for the hijack...:o

What makes it worse is when actual owner appears and pup obviously would prefer to leave with you.

The rule taught to me - Never tie out a dog unless it is accompanied by an acquainted person.

In the UK it is quite common to leave dogs tied up outside, even in Central London - my comment when I see someone tying their dog to leave them unattended is "would you leave your child tied up outside like this?"

I would never do it - apart from the fact that there have been several dog-napping rings in London lately, Gomez is sort of a rare breed and is always a magnet for everyone passing by, he is so small and easy to smuggle away!

PLUS, I'm not sure he would sit and stay for more than 5 seconds without one of us alongside anyway...

I live in the country and my babies take a trip to town now and again. Out side the Finacial Institute is a "Doggy Hitching Post" it's well used but because it's a small town I know all the dogs and owners and we use this opportunity to visit. However when not in my home town the babies either stay home or someone (family member taken along for that reason) holds the leash. Dogs unattended anywhere are in danger from predators of all kinds.