It’s great to be able to walk around to do errands and visit our neighborhood businesses. And for those of us with dogs, we’re likely to take the furry beasts with us since they need the exercise too and get pouty if you go off without them.
But there’s one problem with that plan. Sometimes you walk to a business and can’t find a place to tie up the dog while you’re inside.
Two places I go to have done things the right way, with dedicated hitchin’ posts outside the business.
Katy’s is probably the fanciest, with custom bone shaped attachments on the side of the building:
And The Bottleneck recently added their own simple but effective version with metal hooks under the windows:
A few tips: it’s great when there’s two spots available with a bit of distance between them so that multiple dogs can wait without worrying about territorial disputes. And they’re best when right up next to the building, to give some protection from our impending season of wetness.
So for all of the other un-hitched businesses, please try to follow their lead and get some hitchin’ spots for your store, and I think you’ll get a lot more traffic from all the pet owners in the neighborhood.
And BTW – we have a regional star in the making with our Bottleneck Lounge. They’re in the running for Best Neighborhood Bar in Western Washington. Show your neighborhood pride and give them a vote at http://best.king5.com/contests/best-of-western-washington/23
It’s great how places like coffee shops attract both dogs and baby strollers like moths to a light. More daily amenities are a good thing! Also useful are dog water dishes, benches, flower pots, and cans for cig butts.
That will all work well if the dog owners clean up after the dogs (not YOU, but there are always a few bad apples and a little dog doo goes a long way on your shoes) AND the smokers don’t make the street too unpleasant for others.
Since the indoor smoking ban it’s got hard to walk along Broadway without getting quite a lung-full of smoke: the emanations from the smokers outside the various restaurants/ bars on Broadway sort of merge into a cloud of joy.
We’ve hitched to railing by the Essential and there is a dog water dish outside the French Bistro…
When you see a dog tied up outside a business, do not run up to pet them without first seeing what kind of dog it is. My dog is super shy of strangers and for this reason, I cannot leave him outside alone for any length of time. I tried once, and came back to find a woman practically forcing her affections on my obviously terrified dog.
I still haven’t checked out the Bottleneck, but may have to now. Perfect walk for the pooch.