Dogs, Cats and Snakes Out Shopping

I was in a department store the other day and a woman came in with her little dog and started to put it in a store shopping cart. A clerk went up to her and told her the dog could not go in the cart. She was rather indignant, but said she would hold the dog. What nerve! I have a dog and I love her. She is a well-behaved 100 lb. Greater Swiss Mountain dog. I do not take her shopping with me (with the exception of once in a while to Home Depot or Petco, where she is welcome.) I wonder how these same people with these little dogs would feel if I strolled into a store with my big girl and started scanning the racks? It has become a fad and commonplace for small dog owners to schlep their dogs everywhere they go. They think if they put the dog in a purse or dress them up in a sweater, that the "No Dog" rules do not apply to them. They have an inflated sense of entitlement. Dogs are not our children. They are our pets. Yes, we love them, they mean a lot to us, but they are animals. Can I bring my cat into a store? How about my parrot or my pet snake? At the end of the day I don't want a dog sitting in a cart where I might put my child or where I will put personal items such as my purse or a jacket. I do not want a dog sitting in a cart where I will place clothing I am going to buy. I do not want a dog in the dressing room where I am trying on clothes. If people want to take their dogs on a shopping trip, leave them in the car with the window down, better yet, leave them at home where they belong.