The grocery store in the Finnish city of Tampere even has an official golden retriever who tests out dog treats and shares the results in Instagram videos.
A ‘su-paw-market’ in Finland is welcoming canine customers, with specially-adapted carts which allow dog owners to bring their pooches grocery shopping.
The Kesko grocery chain in the city of Tampere has introduced the “Koirakärry” – dog cart – as a way to welcome in more dog-owning customers at one of its stores, where usually only service animals would be permitted inside the aisles.
“The idea is already used in some countries, but not in Finland, and we have a lot of dog owners nearby,” explains Matilda Tistelgren, who has been operating the supermarket with her partner Joona Pesonen since the spring.
“We have a golden retriever ourselves, and if we go out jogging with the dog and forget something from the store, we don’t want to go home, leave the dog, then have to return to the store ourselves, we want to be able to take the dog with us,” Matilda tells Euronews.
The carts have a dog bed in the bottom, and a clip for leads or harnesses, with owners encouraged to pick up their pups and put them inside – although a future version of the cart might include a small ramp so the dogs can walk in unaided.
Since taking over the management of the supermarket in Tampere’s neighbourhood Kissanmaa – which funnily enough translates as “Cat’s Land” – Matilda and Joona have introduced other pet-friendly innovations.
The couple’s own retriever Tove appears on Instagram with ‘Tove Tastes’ videos where she samples different dog treats.
“Our customers love it,” exclaims Matilda. “In this part of town we have a lot of dog owners and that means a lot of dog customers too, and we already have a lot of hairy regulars,” she adds.
Owner Travels 310 Miles To Reunite With His Stolen Dog
After being found 310 miles from home, a lost dog was reunited with his owner.
Bandit, a one-year-old Malinois Shepherd, went missing from his home in Côte-d’Or in June of last year (France).
His owner, Farid, was devastated and spent months looking for his canine best friends.
Unfortunately, his search was fruitless for several months. Yet. A kind stranger found Bandit on the side of the road eight months later.
The poor dog was stolen when he was only 4 months old.
The dog was found without a collar 310 miles from home, but he was lucky to have a microchip, which allowed him to be reunited with his owner.
The reunion was well-organized, and the two best friends were overjoyed to be reunited!
Bandit and Farid can now live together thanks to the incredible, life-saving work of the shelter, a kind stranger, and a microchip.
When Farid heard the good news, he rushed to Bandit’s road.
“I’m so grateful to everyone who helped him recover, and I cannot emphasize enough the importance of chipping your pets,” he said. Bringing Bandit home is a miracle that would not have happened if it hadn’t been for that chip.” The day Bandit returned home was one of the happiest of my life.”
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