Dogs in grocery stores can be a polarizing issue. Some shoppers find seeing a well-behaved dog with its owner sweet, while others wonder about hygiene and food safety. And then there’s the question of whether or not the dog is a service dog or a pet. And if it’s a pet, why can’t it just stay home for an hour while the owner is grocery shopping? Those have been my thoughts anyway.

Today, I saw this issue from a different perspective.

This morning, I had an appointment to have my dog, Jax, neutered. Well, I thought I did anyway. I left the house at 6:00 am so I would arrive at the clinic at 6:45 am. It was First-Come-First-Served clinic, and I wanted to be one of the first ones there. Another couple arrived at 7:00 am, and we started chatting about our pets. The clinic was supposed to open at 7:30. When it hadn’t opened by 7:45, we realized something was wrong. It wasn’t until then that we noticed the sign on the door said they were open Monday – Thursday. We both had written our appointments down wrong on our calendars. Faced with a 45-minute drive home, and now a waste of nearly 3 hours, I wondered if there was any way to redeem any of that wasted time.

Ah-ha! I was going to pass by a Walmart on the way home. Do they allow dogs in their store, I wondered? It wouldn’t hurt to ask. And I did have a short list of things I needed to pick up.

I admit, I had to stop to take a quick picture of Jax. I mean, after all, it was his first trip to the grocery store. But I also admit that I didn’t look around because I didn’t want to make eye contact with anyone who might be watching me take it.

As I quickly collected items from my shopping list, I noticed that Jax, despite not being a service dog, rather than making others uncomfortable, had the opposite effect. He became a conversation starter.  I think more people spoke to him today than have spoken to me throughout my entire year of Walmart visits. It’s interesting how dogs can open communication between strangers.

I started to relax and enjoy having Jax with me.

And I know Jax enjoyed it too.  You should have seen his nose twitch when we walked past the sausage, hot dog, and bologna aisle.

So, today I learned, we really don’t know why some people have their dogs with them when they go shopping. Maybe the dogs are service dogs. Maybe not. Maybe they’re pets who don’t like to be at home alone, or maybe the pet’s Human doesn’t like to go shopping alone. Or maybe, like Jax, it was just a lucky break, a serendipitous event, that got the dog into that grocery store where he could smell fruit and vegetables, meats and peanut butter, along with lots of other yummy foods, instead of having surgery.

It’s not up to me to question the reason for the dog’s presence, although I still might wonder. I am naturally curious.

If you’re naturally curious, and if you saw this dog at Walmart today, now you know his story.