NEED TO KNOW
- A woman was left in shock after spotting a “very scared” child in a dog-friendly coffee shop with her father
- In a post on Mumsnet, she said the girl ran away when she got up to leave with the two dogs that she and her husband were caring for
- “AIBU [am I being unreasonable] to think that if you know your child is that scared of dogs, a dog-friendly cafe is not the best place to take them?” she asked
A woman was unimpressed after observing a father and his “very scared” daughter in a dog-friendly coffee shop.
In a post on the parenting forum Mumsnet, the woman explained that she and her husband are currently looking after a golden retriever and a terrier cross that belong to her neighbor while they are away for a few days.
She said both of the dogs are “sweet-natured” and were “just minding their own business” when she took them to a dog-friendly coffee shop. She noticed that a father was sitting at a table nearby with his daughter, who was “obviously very scared” of canines.
“When we got up to leave, the little girl ran away into a corner,” the woman said. “I suppose he might have been trying to acclimatize her, but if he was, he wasn’t going the right way about it, having a chat with us, asking the dogs’ names, etc, might have been better.”
Having been disturbed by the child’s fear of dogs, the woman was curious if other people agreed that the father shouldn’t have brought his daughter to the coffee shop.
“AIBU [am I being unreasonable] to think that if you know your child is that scared of dogs, a dog-friendly cafe is not the best place to take them?” she asked.
The post quickly racked up hundreds of comments from people arguing that it’s difficult to avoid dogs in public places.
“Practically every f—— cafe and shop is ‘dog friendly’ these days,” one person wrote. “Dogs ruin the experience in loads of places – barking at each other because there are so many of them, coming up to strangers and bothering them, etc. Even the ‘good’ dogs will just get in the way and they or their leads become a trip hazard.
“There is no need for all these dogs to be everywhere and you thinking that just because a cafe is ‘dog friendly’ that means that dogs must take priority there over humans who don’t like dogs is outrageous,” the same person continued. “I’m amazed at your entitled attitude, especially as they’re not even your bloody dogs!!”
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Another response to the post said, “It’s very rare to find dog-free spaces these days. I went to a dog-free event at the weekend and it was LOVELY. We could sit on the floor and eat a picnic, which is almost impossible to do these days. Can’t see it being rolled back though – everyone’s got a dog.”
Among the flood of comments complaining about dogs was an individual defending the father’s parenting.
“YABU [you are being unreasonable],” they wrote. “This child doesn’t need to be taught that she should be scared of going to every place that labels itself as dog-friendly. She’d grow up believing that there is a valid reason to restrict her life and never go to parks if they avoided ever being in the same space as dogs.
“Much better for the parent just to be matter-of-fact about the dog being there and show her it was no big deal with his own behavior,” the person concluded.
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