[Mjaye]

There used to be plenty of neat little stores and gas stations with resident dogs who made visiting the places very entertaining. I know of a couple of local shops where dogs reside, no food involved, and at least the gov’t hasn’t banned them for contaminating the goods.

[fatnotlazy]

There is a store in downtown Pittsburgh which sells office supplies and stationery. Some years ago, one of the employees brought in a cat named Smokey which she had rescued. Smokey lived at the store for about 17 years, greeting people or just sitting around waiting to be petted.

Once a woman accused Smokey of biting her and she took the store to court. Fortunately, the lawsuit was dismissed. The store had a jar on its checkout counter labeled “Smokey Defense Fund.” Turned out that the store was represented by a longtime customer and attorney, so there was little or no cost of litigation to the store. The money collected was given to an animal shelter.

Since Smokey's demise, the store has had a number of resident cats. Now it's a tradition to have at least one around. These cats make shopping there a pleasant experience. I know I can buy a lot of my supplies from Office Depot, Staples or Office Max for a lot less than this store, but those stores don't have a resident cat I can pet. Having an animal to love is a great stress reducer too.