So today I got dragged to an outlet center...
My guess is most people in the states know what these are, but I'm not sure if this stupidity has spread beyond our shores, so I'll give a brief explanation...
Once upon a time, manufacturers would have these stores where they sold older discounted merchandise, stuff that was returned, overstock, stuff that was not "first" quality or stuff that just wasn't moving fast enough.
Usually there were great bargains to be had, but usually these store were on the far side of nowhere or really well off the beaten track.
Then some idiot published an article about these great savings and eventually everyone knew they existed and people would travel from far off galaxies to visit them...
So at some point after that manufacturers realized they could make whole malls out of outlet stores and people were so stupid they wouldn't realize 90% of the crap in those stores is not an actual bargain or that some of it is low grade crap made especially for the outlets...
But these places are still hugely popular... In fact the one near us in Riverhead NY has bus excursions from NYC that bring people all the way out there for a day of bargainless name brand shopping... In fact they even built two hotels adjacent to the place so people can make a vacation of shopping there.
Blarf...
So I went along unhappily...
I'm not a shopper and I hate brand name crap and I hate when people get into crowds because it brings out the stupidest parts of human nature.
People get dumb in crowds.
Dumb people get dumber.
It's scary.
Before I get to my point... (I think I actually have one)...
I just want to say that I like animals...
I'd say "I love animals" but some people might interpret that as an inappropriate sort of relationship...
Which is okay I suppose if the animal is of legal age and everything is consensual... But also I avoid saying that because some animals are just jerks...
Most squirrels are kinda jerky, everyone knows at least one dog or cat that should be in one of those Hannibal Lecter straight jackets with the mask, and there is this penguin at the Long Island aquarium that is just the most antagonistic little butthead who taunts everyone with his sassy little remarks...
So I'll say "I really like animals"...
In fact aside from stinking Pepe the penguin and most squirrels, I like most animals more then most people...
So please try and understand that this is not a complaint against animals...
This is a complaint against stupid people...
What the hell is up with people bringing dogs in stores now?
Not service dogs, but dachshuahuaoodles, and other adorably snarky little critters...
Today at this outlet center, it was like "Bring your dog and get extra 10% off for each person that trips over them, their leash or who steps on them!"
I have a sneaking suspicion people see that service dogs are welcome and get jealous that a well behaved dog is allowed to escort a blind person or they feel they are so stupid that their over caffeinated snickerdoole must be more capable of reason then them that it qualifies as some sort of helper dog and thus should be helping them pick out sweat pants...
I've had lots of dogs and I made sure they were well behaved in public... In fact aside from one beer snatching incident, none of my dogs ever acted inappropriately in public.
Despite that, I never would have thought to bring them into stores, museums or amusement parks... Not just because it's inappropriate or other people might feel uncomfortable, but because it's not really an enjoyable place for them, and in some situations, not safe.
I'm also starting to feel as though some service dogs are either not as well trained or there is a black market for service dog vests, judging from some dogs behavior in crowded places.
But, once again, I'm not talking about service dogs.
Regular dogs.
Without citing too many incidents from today, for example there was a guy with a smallish dachshund mix on a leash... He has a cup of soda in the leash hand and a big pretzel in the other... He is stuffing his face and the poor dog is wandering shell shocked too and fro, trying not to get stepped on as people keep almost tripping over his leash or his tiny body in an extremely crowded store with a big "sale"....
Did this suddenly become a thing?
It's like in the past several months I've noticed dogs in all sorts of places they shouldn't really be...
I'm not suggesting people start taking cats, chinchillas or horses out there to balance the numbers, I'm just wondering if there was a memo sent out that I didn't receive.
Maybe it was because a few years back people started carrying around those tiny teacup dogs that fit in a handbag and other people started smuggling bigger but still small dogs in shopping carts and at this point nobody is telling them no, so the size is escalating...
You know what... If you have a horse... Go for it... I'm sure at some point someone is going to try and bring their pet rhinoceros into Walmart and it'll make news and that will ruin it for everyone and the stores will start enforcing the rules again.
Like I said, it's not about the animals, it's more about the people.
Today it was really amazing to see so many people dragging along freaked out dogs at such a crowded place.
If you know dog body language, you'd have known not one of those dogs was happy to be there.
Neither was I...
Maybe I should have bit someone.
