Today we got thrown out of the Barnes & Nobles bookstore in Naperville, Illinois, near Chicago – because of our dog Dumpty. Makes you wonder: not five minutes go by without people coming up commenting on our dog „oh what a cute puppie“, or „oh he’s adorable“. There are shops selling all sorts of necessary and unnecessary things for dogs and other pets. But when you try to do normal life things, such as going into a bookstore – no pets. Coffee shop, restaurant, mall, any official building – no pets. There was even a rest stop on the I-90, just after crossing the Missouri in Chamberlain, South Dakota, where you had to tie you pet to a pole before you could access the picnic areas.
OK, I could understand the restaurant restrictions, even though that seems odd for us regular Europeans. But bookstores? Strange …