Áilín Quinlan: I adore dogs... but I don’t want them in pubs and restaurants

First off, I should say that I’ve had dogs all my life. I love dogs, and dogs usually like me. In fact, a lot of the time I tend to like and trust dogs more than some of the humans I meet.

Many dogs, I’ve found, are far better behaved than some human adults, and at least some human children, and my own dogs were no exception.

If you look at the shenanigans of some of the more feral specimens of mankind at large in urban public spaces these days, you’d honestly far prefer to be in the company of a dog.

All the same, I never brought my dogs into a shop, a café, a pub or on a bus, train or tram. I never allowed my dog to sit on a seat that is meant for a human being, as, it seems, has started to happen.

I personally don’t feel that animals - other than guide and assistance dogs of course - belong in such places.

Now, though, people seem to have forgotten that it’s quite normal to go places without bringing the family dog. There seems to be a belief that it’s unfair to all concerned to leave the mutt at home.

I was having dinner in a busy, friendly pub one Sunday evening recently. Large plates of food were being served as a middle-aged couple strolled in with their two large hounds, walking past our table and down to the end of the bar.

Between the four of them, they took up two whole tables near the back of the pub.

I experienced a surge of irritation. Not at the animals, which were extremely well-behaved, and which lay quietly at their owners’ feet.

But at the couple, whose dogs were so large that the four of them took up two tables in a busy bar, forcing other customers to step around the animals on the way in and out of the loo.

Had this couple considered the fact that the following morning some poor cleaner would have to hoover up all the dog hair their hounds were shedding? I doubt it.

Not far away, another customer had a really enormous, somewhat smelly and loudly panting hound lying half under her table.

Look, it’s unhygienic. It feels unhygienic, it looks unhygienic, and sometimes it even smells unhygienic, especially if a well-intentioned dog-owner brings in their smelly dog blanket to spread on the floor for the pet to lie on.

And if the venue is crowded, the last thing you need is people stepping on or falling over dogs, however quiet and well-behaved those dogs are.

Suppose one of these quiet dogs gets stepped on and snaps at the passer-by in shock, or indeed, bites a stumbling customer. What then?

What if one dog takes exception to another and a fight breaks out?

I understand the arguments for having pet-friendly places.

I just feel that pets, other than guide dogs or assistance pets, don’t really belong in pubs, shops or cafes, and they should be left to enjoy life in places such as public parks, fields, empty beaches, pavements, homes, gardens, or the family car.

I do find myself wondering how many dogs, large or small, truly enjoy sitting in a cramped shopping trolley or being sequestered under cramped tables in noisy, crowded pubs or cafés.

Dogs, believe it or not, tend to like the outdoors. They like being able to move around and run and go for walks. They don’t necessarily enjoy being forced to crouch under a small table in a loud, busy bar or café while their owners down pints or slurp coffee and talk rubbish.

The day I saw a cat in the same bar sitting in a harness, I truly began to wonder whether we’re losing the run of ourselves.

Is this because we’re having fewer and fewer children and are falling into some kind of anthropomorphism, treating our pets like substitute babies?

Or is it because of the pandemic lockdowns, which left some people with no company but that of their dog, and the sincere belief that they are now entitled to foist the sometimes smelly company of their mutts on strangers indoors?

We dog-lovers should remember that not everyone loves dogs the way we do - especially in indoor public venues, and especially if they have a dog hair allergy.

We should remember that we are not entitled to foist our animal’s company on others - that, for example, if our dog jumps up on a stranger, not everyone will be minded to fondly pat the animal’s head as dog lovers will do.

Some people might get a shock, and it’s not good enough for the frightened child or adult to dismiss your leaping mutt’s antics with the casual observation that he’s just being friendly.

Bringing dogs out shopping, to the pub and out for a meal is all the trend in places like Spain and Portugal and France and, I believe, in Australia – but if everyone in Spain and Portugal and France and Australia decided to go jumping off a cliff, as my parents used to say, does that mean we have to?

Pets, it should be said, are legally allowed in pubs here. They’ve also been allowed in restaurants since November, 2017 – but what we need to accept and understand is that our beloved mutt may not be universally welcome.