Not from ya'lls neck of the woods, but thought I'd show off my babies too
Onyx,Dixie and D*O*G
Bear
Dixie and her BIG ball...14" jolly without the handle. She balances it on her nose and runs with it

Didn't get the names with the pics, but OH WELL...you get the idea

BB, you got it right, they are Rat Terriers.
And they are quite the hunters. Even disabled Petrie catches mice out under my potting table.

Ginger it was easy to figure out which dog went with each name. Wow, you have 4 large dogs. Not sure I could keep up with that much energy anymore.

Very helpful dogs, Lynn. Ginger what cuties and that's a good trick bear has. I can just picture him running with that ball. Does he ever run into things?

I went to a hellebore class/promotion this AM. A gal from Skagit gardens-wholesale gave a talk on hellebores. Very nice, but 2 people brought there dogs to the class. They were very well behaved but was that fun for them? Mine are not that good so would never do that.
What do you guys thing of that?

Just a side note.
Another thing I noticed was many women there but not a high-heeled shoe on one person! My kind of people!

Spring -
Ginger, in the first photo I only saw the 2 dogs until I clicked to enlarge and then I saw the 3rd one with the white face, and the 2 of them are all cuddled up together on the couch - how cute!! Had me laughing! And Bear too with that huge ball
BH - They used to have a fountain area that had a pond and plants and a few fish, you could sit near it, its been a while since I've been so I don't know if its still there
You all cheered me up on this rainy afternoon!
Thanks

Spring, if they are well behaved I don't mind, but like you, I wonder why they would bring them to gardening class?
No high heels.
What hellebores did they talk about? I have come to love this plant.

Years ago, when I was teaching comparative lit at San Francisco State, a dog attended one of my classes regularly. He came inside the building and walked into the room with the other "students" as the class started every Tuesday and Thursday afternoon, sat in the back of the room for the whole hour and a half, and left to go back outside when the class was over. He didn't belong to anyone taking the class. As I recall, it was a class on "Epic and Legend."

Zuzu, did you see the movie Hachiko?
Your above post made me think of this movie. Wonder what the story was behind that dog?

No, I didn't see the movie.

The students and I just assumed this guy had to be an epic hero trapped in the body of a dog.

If you rent movies you might want to give this one a try. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H...

Sounds too sad to watch. I looked it up after you mentioned it, and I think it would break my heart.

There are places for dogs, and places quite inappropriate for dogs. I cannot abide dogs in stores. It is just wrong. I have a couple-friend who are quite proud of the fact that they have 'certified' their dog (standard poodle type) as a service animal (admittedly false) and they even take it into the grocery store. Creeps me out. I do take my dog with us on most trips (we have a camper), but I would never think of putting her on a leash and traipsing through a bookstore.

Really? That doesn't bother me at all. Most of my local bookstores and nurseries have cats or dogs or both on the premises. It's a nice part of the shopping experience. I visit the bookstores here regularly, as much to see the cats as to buy books. The dog at the local printing supplies shop pulls a paper bag out of the stack behind the counter with his teeth and gives it to me for my purchases.

No stores for bonnie. Its not that i don't like dogs and cats in stores, my dog doesn't . She is Blue Heeler Pit bull mutt and is a surprisingly good hunter of all sorts of small critters. I wouldn't put it past her to nab a complacent book store cat i missed.

BB, hopefully nothing bad will happen concerned with the dogs, as they can get in serious trouble.
A service dog is for people in need of assistance, thus they can go every where with their owner. They are highly trained for what ever their person needs.
A Certified Therapy Dog is bonded and licensed after extensive training and testing for both dog and handler. They don't have the same privileges as a Service Dog. The can only go into the places they work (nursing homes, library, school, etc) no grocery stores and such.

Zuzu, we have local cat and dog celebrities in our little town. The local printing shop has a cat, and our local seamstress has 2 Australian Shepherds that visit customers.

I do agree with BB though, it upsets me when I see some one bringing there dog into the grocery store, not sure what they are thinking. And they are not service dogs.

In WA state the law is very vague about what constitutes a "service dog" (not a Therapy dog, Lynn you're right about that!) but anyone who has depression issues can get a note from their Dr to have a dog as a means for battling isolation/depression (I'm not saying its good or bad, but I have seen positive results - it gives the person something other than themselves to think/care about and for the human to have love in their life!) I don't mind dogs/cats in stores, as long as their not in the way, or getting into things, or smelly
Its funny in most European countries dogs (especially smaller ones) are fixtures, many people bring them wherever they go stores, restaurants, pubs, cafes etc (it did take me a minute to get used to that when I've visited!)
Cheers

Greg is that what is up. I wondered why my homeless friends dogs were all certified as service dogs. People up here sure do need help with that depression though

Exactly! Mark, I just remembered another title for this "companion animal" so its my understanding that WA state doesn't have legal clerity around what's a companion animal, and what qualifies as a service dog. Also service dogs are allowed off leash at most parks (which again, depending on how well trained/behaved they are, this can be ok, or problematic!)
Zuzu with you about the movie sounding too sad and also what a cute story about the dog sitting in on your course! I love that!
Cheers on this rainy cold afternoon all

I will amend my views:

If the store owner has his/her animal on site, that is more than fine. One does often find lounging cats in bookstores. Yet another reason to leave my dog at home or in the car.

My complaint is against those folks who I guess think little FooFoo is so cute it's somehow OK to bring into any and every type of store, including grocery stores. If all of us felt that way, I can only imagine the animal confrontations that would occur. Shopping is painful enough as it is (for me). I am lately seeing more signs on storefronts clearly stating only service animals are allowed, which I appreciate.

And, I do have to remember that I always brought Frankie into my Dad's assisted living facility and she was the perfect 'companion dog' to all the residents. She has a penchant for putting her head on anyone's lap and folks in wheelchairs were easy targets for her. Both the residents and staff looked forward to her visits.

I've heard about, but never been into, dog-friendly bars and/or restaurants. Boy, what a bad concept that seems to me. But, my clear option is to just stay out of them.

Dog-friendly restaurants? Wow! What a bad idea! The laws here are very strict. No pets in restaurants or grocery stores.