Caroline Moody investigates if dogs are welcome in the shops of St Helier
I SET out expecting a negative experience.
I hesitated to take my dog through town, not because I expected him to misbehave but because I was being asked to go into shops, something I would not normally do.
I would prefer to leave my dog at home rather than tying him up outside a shop, but the thought of taking him inside shops where I may be shooed out was quite daunting.
I also didn’t want his waggy tail to knock anything off a shelf or, worse still, his leg cocking to have a pee.
We first walked for 20 minutes, allowing him to be fully ‘toileted’ before we arrived on the streets of St Helier.
First stop, WH Smith, where I got a broad smile from the cashier.
Well, it was Zippy who got the smile.
He is, it has to be said, a dog who draws a lot of smiles and ‘aahhhhs’.
I walked confidently into the Post Office.
No one stopped me as I browsed some postcards.
It was only when I left that I saw the sign that said ‘no dogs’.
Maybe it was because of all the renovation work going on that they hadn’t intervened.
Or maybe staff turn a blind eye to a well-behaved dog?
Certainly this seemed to be the case in de Gruchy, where staff were delightful, but at the entrance there are very small signs that say ‘guide dogs only’.
The first negative experience came in Pound Magic*.
I walked halfway through the store before being asked to leave, along with another lady who happened to be behind me with her dog.
Despite frowns coming from some customers, Zippy walked out with his head held high, though I felt my tail was between my legs.
Perhaps a ‘no dogs please’ sign at the front door would help?
I could not spot one.
I went into Marks & Spencer (though I didn’t try to go to their food hall), and the welcome was positive.
Here, people were all over Zippy: What’s his name? Isn’t he cute? Where did he come from?
Even a suited and booted older gentleman walked past with a smile. ‘Ooh, nice doggie.’
Buoyed with confidence again, I took on the stance as if I were training Zippy and walked purposefully through shops, being mindful to keep him on a short lead so as not to trip up other shoppers.
Paying was difficult as I juggled lead, purse and rucksack.
There were coos of delight from the cosmetics girls in Voisins**, who were delighted to see Zippy.
‘I do love it when people bring their dogs in,’ one said.
This was echoed by a cashier in the 99p Store, who said: ‘You’ve brightened my day just bringing him in here.’
Zippy also managed to walk around Accessorise, BHS, Boots (the smaller one), Next and Monsoon unhindered.
‘Sorry, we don’t cater for you here,’ said the lady in Monsoon.
Just as I thought that that was a very polite way of saying ‘get out’, I realised actually she was just letting Zippy know that he would not find anything in his size in store.
At Waterstones Zippy took a cursory look at some novelty dog books (like Dogs in the Air, Off The Leash, Pugs in Costumes, Wet Dog and, best of all, Simon’s Cat Off to the Vet) which were out already for Christmas stocking fillers.
Our final visit was through the Central Market, making sure to keep him away from sniffing the flowers, fruit and vegetables.
Needing something in Red Triangle Stores, we popped into the confined space of the shop.
The lady there said they get so many dogs coming in that she is tempted to get some treats in for them.
Now, you might ask – especially if you do not own a dog – why might you want to take your pet to town?
I have to admit that it was not something I would do if I was expecting to buy quite a lot.
You would just not have enough hands.
But there is probably a demand from French tourists.
After all, just about every restaurant on the Continent seems to accepts dogs these days (not just al fresco), so I imagine they expect to take their dogs shopping.
And there are older or lonely people whose outing to town is made a better experience for having their canine companion with them.
If they are just popping out for a birthday card or their JEP, would it not be nice to be able to take the dog with them, and not have to leave them outside a shop?
One lady I met said that it was often difficult to find somewhere to tie up the dog and, besides, she just did not like leaving him.
It was often difficult to find ‘no dogs’ signs outside shops, so perhaps we should have some more prominent signs along the lines of ‘we welcome well-behaved dogs’.
Zippy walked home feeling like top dog, having had so many admiring smiles and pats on the head, and I have to admit I was surprised by just how sociable the experience had been.
Certainly we had interacted with a lot of strangers, which I would not have done without Zip by my side.
*?A spokesman for Pound Magic explained afterwards that their ‘no dogs’ policy is purely because the front half of their store is stacked with food and, understandably, the presence of dogs doesn’t sit comfortably alongside the need for good hygiene standards.
**?Gerald Voisin said: ‘Years ago we discouraged dogs because they had “accidents” in the store and their owners weren’t co-operative in cleaning up the mess.
‘These days we’re more relaxed and our White Stuff department does encourage dogs and their owners into the department.
‘This isn’t a new policy, just a more relaxed view as it is unusual to see dogs in the store.’
