On Saturday Thunder went shopping to an outdoor shopping mall where the shops all face an outside courtyard. This mall is great because many of the shops welcome dogs. Each store has a decal in the window saying whether dogs are welcome inside or not. Many put out bowls of water for the dogs, although to be honest, I would not let Thunder drink out of a community bowl.
This mall is a bit of a drive so I do not normally have the time to go shopping there, let alone the time to shop with a dog in tow. I am usually running here and there as quickly as I can. The last time I was at this mall was in May when JoAnn and Glory of Sand Spring Chesapeakes were in town for the Thunder x Glory breeding. It was a warm day then, but last Saturday the weather was sunny and cool. It was a perfect day for shopping. I figured it would get busy as the day wore on. Thunder and I made sure to there as close to the stores opening as possible.
We were not just going there to kill time. We were on a mission to pick out a fancy treat from the Three Dog Bakery for Freighter’s 4th birthday (coming up this Saturday).
The Three Dog Bakery is a storefront franchise for the online store which sells dog treats. The store sells packaged treats under the Three Dog Bakery brand name as well as healthy treats from other companies and toys, leashes, bowls, etc. There is also a case of fresh baked treats which are made on premises.
I had planned a post on Thunder picking out a birthday treat for Freighter but I was informed that I was not allowed to take a picture of Thunder in front of the bakery case. Really why? I was told something about the store being a franchise and it was not allowed. Honestly I do not understand that because it would have been free advertising for their store. But it is their store so I moved Thunder in front of their Christmas tree for a picture. You can just make out the forbidden pastry case in the background.
We hurried up and picked out the treat (come back Friday to see what we picked). I also did a bit more shopping. We finished up quickly because there were not many people the store which was good because the store was smallish and packed with stuff and Thunder is no small dog. I kept him on a short leash worried that we would knock a display over. It was pretty tight in places.
You may have noticed that Thunder looks a bit distracted in these pictures. That is because we don’t get to visit shops and shopping malls often. Once I finished up at the dog bakery, I went and put my bag in the car and then Thunder and I did some training and socializing.
Come back tomorrow for the rest of our trip.
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Happy birthday for Saturday, Thunder! Love from Rolo and Annabel (chocolate Labradors living in London, UK)
Thunder looks hungry! We used to visit the Three Dog Bakery in Pasadena when we lived there – it was Sally’s favorite trip.
I would probably go more often for special occasions if it were not so far and on such a busy shopping road. Traffic out that way can be terrible.
I love taking the dogs shopping with me, I just wish there were more dog friendly places around where I live.
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Before I got my Valley Fever, I used to go almost everywhere with mum (because I am a service dog in training). Because my lead is attached to mum’s wheelchair, and I usually am wearing my vest, we do not get many questions, etc. One of the problems we have (especially around the holidays), the stores cram as much as possible in the store and often the aisles are VERY tight for the wheelchair and me. We (especially mum in her chair) have knocked stuff off shelves because of the tight space. Mum has complained to store employees and often in some of the smaller stores will just turn around and walk out!! Of course, mum has said that happens even when I am not along!! STORE MANAGERS — MAKE YOUR STORE MORE WHEELCHAIR FRIENDLY!!
I totally understand what you are saying. Many of the stores were small to begin with and then they put tables with stuff in the middle. It was difficult with just Thunder. I doubt you could have made it through with a wheelchair.
How fun!
I remember the post where you visited last spring. I still really want a Three Dog bakery in my city!
I love to go shopping, and sometimes I try to shoplift. Why they leave good stuff out in the open if a dog isn’t supposed to grab it I will never understand!
what, no pictures in front of the yummy’s, I agree free advertising.
I think that’s kind of crap that they wouldn’t let you take the photo. I’m bitchy and so I probably wouldn’t even have mentioned their name in the post, because I get like that. LOL
I could probably take Sampson in a store like that, but he is also a big dog and I would worry about knocking something down. Delilah is a no go. She’d be trying to eat everything. 🙂
I have never taken any of my dogs shopping. Someday I’d like to try it…it looks like fun!
Maybe Thunder can be a “mystery shopper”? I wished we had an outdoor mall here, the guys do enjoy shopping.
I wish this mall was closer. I would shop there more often. It is a good thing to mix in with their training and more interesting than our neighborhood walks.