In Spite of CostCo

swabby

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#1
PSA for shoppers @ COSTCO:

Miserable experience there today.

A little Poodle found her way to me and my parents as we were loading their vehicle.
Lots of GRIEF and LOTS of "I can't do anything" later....2 hours....to be exact, Mommie and Pup were reunited.

ACCORDING to the ONE "manager" that actually took the time out to try and help, The DURHAM N.C. COSTCO has a NO EXCEPTION POLICY about dogs in the building. The "manager" even went so far as to explain to me, that EVEN IF we tried to "sneak the dog in"..."color-coded" vests...etc wouldn't be good enough. THEY REQUIRE "Paperwork" for every dog.

In the Midst of all this, I found out COSTCO MANAGERS don't even know what an ADAM ALERT is. Gal ACTUALLY told me, that the people on the floor... IF they are paying attention and IF they have their "radios" ON...."they" COSTCO takes care of it like that....They just "radio" one another. THEN proceeded to tell me about having a child on her "hip" long enough to process SEVERAL "receiving orders", before the parents showed up.

I am SICK!

SCREW COSTCO!


Maggie back with her Mom:

http://i205.photobucket.com/albums/b...psedc7d30e.jpg
 

SizzleDog

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#2
I'm confused by... all of this.

All I can say is that the local Costco is VERY service dog friendly, follows the law to the T, and is a great place for service dog handlers to visit.

But I'm not sure you're talking about a service dog in this situation.
 

Beanie

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#3
For some reason I pictured Chris Farley the whole time I read this post.
 

swabby

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#4
I'm confused by... all of this.

All I can say is that the local Costco is VERY service dog friendly, follows the law to the T, and is a great place for service dog handlers to visit.

But I'm not sure you're talking about a service dog in this situation.
The manager told me point blank...she didn't care IF you had harnesses and all. IF, you did not have notarized paperwork with you, your service dog was not welcome & you are SOL.

TRUE, I don't have kids, but the very FACT they don't have an "Adam Alert" in place concerns me.

Secondly....ALL I wanted to do, was walk through the building and ask...until I found Maggie's Mom and Dad. With NO PA system in place, I consider that the VERY least they could have done.

ADAM ALERT! Surely, I am not the only one posting to be on lock-down...until an errant 5-y-o was corralled in WalMart. Yet, there were cheers for all.
 

SizzleDog

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#5
The manager told me point blank...she didn't care IF you had harnesses and all. IF, you did not have notarized paperwork with you, your service dog was not welcome & you are SOL.
Which means the manager would be violating federal law. ;)

TRUE, I don't have kids, but the very FACT they don't have an "Adam Alert" in place concerns me.

Secondly....ALL I wanted to do, was walk through the building and ask...until I found Maggie's Mom and Dad. With NO PA system in place, I consider that the VERY least they could have done.

ADAM ALERT! Surely, I am not the only one posting to be on lock-down...until an errant 5-y-o was corralled in WalMart. Yet, there were cheers for all.
A Code Adam would not apply in the case of a missing dog. A dog is not a human child. Since the poodle was A.) not a child, and B.) not a service dog, the manager was completely within her rights to bar the dog from her store, even for you to walk through the building in an effort to find its owner.
 

Saeleofu

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#6
Which means the manager would be violating federal law. ;)



A Code Adam would not apply in the case of a missing dog. A dog is not a human child. Since the poodle was A.) not a child, and B.) not a service dog, the manager was completely within her rights to bar the dog from her store, even for you to walk through the building in an effort to find its owner.
All this. All of it. I see nothing wrong with what happened. If you find a dog in the parking lot, either wait outside, or go home and post it on Craigslist/whatever else.

A harness, vest, or "paperwork" do not make a dog a service dog. Being individually trained to performs tasks or work for the disabled handlers makes a dog a service dog. I don't know where you get this "notarized paperwork" thing from.
 

Beanie

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#7
FYI "Amber alert" is the term issued for media when a child is missing. "Code Adam" is a Wal-mart code for missing children. Many stores have their own codes. Target had one, it's a color (all three alerts for various things are colors.) The name, nor details of the expected response by employees, is not made public by most stores nor announced overhead so people don't hear and try to make off with a kid who isn't theirs. I can assure you it doesn't involve running through the store with the kid asking everybody "does this belong to you?"
But a dog is not a child and suggesting they put out a missing child alert for a dog, if I'm understanding that's what you were asking them to do is, um... really bizarre.
 

sillysally

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#8
I wouldn't expect them to lock the building down or even let me bring the dog in, but making an announcement over the PA seems the least they could do. Not everyone can just bring a found dog home with them, but you don't want to just leave the dog running around the parking lot...
 
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#9
I hate to say it, but it sounds like you put the store manager on defensive. They sell food, of course you can't just wander around with a dog, especially a stray dog. Service dogs are trained not to do things stray dogs will do.

"The "manager" even went so far as to explain to me, that EVEN IF we tried to "sneak the dog in"..."color-coded" vests...etc wouldn't be good enough. THEY REQUIRE "Paperwork" for every dog." If this was his reaction to you saying "but what about service dogs?" just after the conversation about letting you in to find the owners, then yeah, I can understand it. They probably don't require paperwork, but he'd ask for some kind of proof if you came back with a vest on the poodle.

As far as the Adam Alert announcement, that's a WalMart publicity thing. I work in retail and Beanie's right, most stores don't publicize their codes. But there's somebody at ever exit at Costco and everybody's got radios. You couldn't even wander out with an extra tube of toothpaste, let alone a child in your cart.

If somebody lost their dog, they wouldn't be cruising the aisles of Costco looking for it, they'd ask at the front. You notified the management, that was the best idea. Glad you persisted and found the owners, that's what really counts.

Btw, a stray dog in a parking lot, it really could have come from anywhere.
 

xpaeanx

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#10
I hate to say it, but it sounds like you put the store manager on defensive. They sell food, of course you can't just wander around with a dog, especially a stray dog. Service dogs are trained not to do things stray dogs will do.

"The "manager" even went so far as to explain to me, that EVEN IF we tried to "sneak the dog in"..."color-coded" vests...etc wouldn't be good enough. THEY REQUIRE "Paperwork" for every dog." If this was his reaction to you saying "but what about service dogs?" just after the conversation about letting you in to find the owners, then yeah, I can understand it. They probably don't require paperwork, but he'd ask for some kind of proof if you came back with a vest on the poodle.

As far as the Adam Alert announcement, that's a WalMart publicity thing. I work in retail and Beanie's right, most stores don't publicize their codes. But there's somebody at ever exit at Costco and everybody's got radios. You couldn't even wander out with an extra tube of toothpaste, let alone a child in your cart.

If somebody lost their dog, they wouldn't be cruising the aisles of Costco looking for it, they'd ask at the front. You notified the management, that was the best idea. Glad you persisted and found the owners, that's what really counts.

Btw, a stray dog in a parking lot, it really could have come from anywhere.
I have to agree with this 100%.

I wouldn't assume a pet in a parking lot was from that store, it could have easily wandered over from anywhere or a nearby residential area.

And it sounds like you wanted him to use Costcos child alert system for a dog? I understand wanting to find the dogs, but you can't use a child alert on a dog. That devalues the alert. And besides the fact that the health department does not allow animals inside buildings that sell food, many regular retail stores do not allow animals. So it's not at all surprising they wouldn't allow a dog in let alone a stray.

And yes, you probably put him on the defensive. I work for a company that allows dogs for a fee, I can't tell you how many people try to say their dog is a service dog so they don't have to pay and it very obviously is not.
 

Saeleofu

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#11
I wouldn't assume a pet in a parking lot was from that store, it could have easily wandered over from anywhere or a nearby residential area.
I found three small dogs in the parking lot of Dollar Tree a couple summers ago. Guess what? They were NOT from the store! They were from a house across the street from the store.
 

JessLough

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#12
FYI "Amber alert" is the term issued for media when a child is missing. "Code Adam" is a Wal-mart code for missing children. Many stores have their own codes. Target had one, it's a color (all three alerts for various things are colors.) The name, nor details of the expected response by employees, is not made public by most stores nor announced overhead so people don't hear and try to make off with a kid who isn't theirs. I can assure you it doesn't involve running through the store with the kid asking everybody "does this belong to you?"
But a dog is not a child and suggesting they put out a missing child alert for a dog, if I'm understanding that's what you were asking them to do is, um... really bizarre.
I was so confused as to why everyone seemed ok with them calling it an Adam alert when they meant Amber Alert. LOL
 

Beanie

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#13
I was so confused as to why everyone seemed ok with them calling it an Adam alert when they meant Amber Alert. LOL
I think they do mean Code Adam - but got confused since "Amber Alert" is what everybody hears, being those go over radio and TV and everything. Most definitely Costco has a "missing/lost child" code but it's not at all going to be the same as an Amber Alert which is issued by, y'know. The police. And not a retail store LOL.
 

swabby

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#14
Boy, I apparently did a bad job of explaining myself.

I never expected CostCo to lock the building down to look for Maggie's Mom and Dad. The fact that CostCo does not have a plan in place for children bothered me and it has nothing to do with Maggie. Geeze.

Since they don't have the capability to announce something over a loud speaker, I do not feel like it was unreasonable to ask to take the dog in and look around for her parents. I wasn't going to put her down, I was going to carry her.

And Yes, I know CostCo sells food. I also know they have about a hundred wild birds flying around in there shitting all over the place.
 

sillysally

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#17
I found three small dogs in the parking lot of Dollar Tree a couple summers ago. Guess what? They were NOT from the store! They were from a house across the street from the store.
I think it depends on the location if the store. There are plenty of retail locations around us that are not anywhere near residential areas, just commercial. It does sound like the dog's owners in this case was a customer of the store.

Honestly, if I found a dog in a parking lot of a store the first thing I would do (provided there was no ID on the dog) is go to the manager/customer service and try to get them to make an announcement. What else would I do? I can't take the dog home with me and I shop during hours most shelters are closed.
 

Southpaw

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#18
I'm super confused about this thread, and what a stray dog has to do with a service dog, and what any of that has to do with missing children. :confused:

Next time you find a stray in a parking lot, I think your best bet is to call animal control.
 

Xandra

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#19
I think asking the store if they can make an announcement is a good idea as a first step, but if there's no PA system I'd just call AC. If I didn't want to wait around I'd put the dog on some sort of a rope or cheap leash, give it to the Costco door person...sayonara.
 

Saeleofu

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#20
Since they don't have the capability to announce something over a loud speaker, I do not feel like it was unreasonable to ask to take the dog in and look around for her parents. I wasn't going to put her down, I was going to carry her.
It is absolutely unreasonable to bring a STRAY DOG into Costco. It's not even that it's not a service dog, but that it's not even YOUR dog. You have NO IDEA how the dog will react to anything. I'd have your ass so fast if your stray did anything to my service dog (you know, the dog that would be there legally).

Costco cannot legally allow a pet, let alone a stray, into their store. It's against health code. It doesn't matter if you're carrying it or letting it walk or putting it in the cart. It's a stray dog. Treat it like a stray dog, not like a service odg or a child.
 

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