I Witnessed A Dog Attack At Lowes in St. George

If you are going to bring your dog into a store that allows it, please be sure your dog and the other customers feel comfortable.

You may have noticed people bringing their canine companions into Home Depot and Lowes. I couldn’t find an official policy for these stores, but they seem to allow it if the dog is on a leash and well behaved. 

This can be a good opportunity to train a dog how to act in public especially if it is going to be a service animal. It also saves you from leaving your pet in a hot car in Southern Utah. 

I must admit, when I see a large dog walking towards me down the store aisle, my first reflex is to tense up. I grew up doing a paper route and there were dogs that seemed to think I was didn't belong in the neighborhood and would bark and snarl inches from my back tire as I sped away. One husky in particular even did some biting. 

I have a dog of my own now and dogs don’t bother me, but when I see one where I don’t expect, it does bring up that primal fear. I’ll be digging through a bucket of bolts and suddenly look up to see Bruno barreling down on me and it does make my heart skip a couple of beats. 

Even worse, I was in Lowes here in St. George standing at the return counter. A woman walked in with a big dog and an older gentleman smiled and reached towards it. The dog chomped onto his hand which he pulled back quickly.  

Seeing what had happened, the woman turned and zipped out the doors towing the dog behind her. Last I saw she was running through the parking lot. Meanwhile, the man walked to the counter clutching his hand that was now dripping blood. 

I felt bad for the Lowes employee who had a major situation on her hands and the perpetrator, and her canine were long gone. The guy shouldn’t have reached for the dog in the first place, but then maybe the woman could have made sure her dog was ready for an unfamiliar setting as well.  

I kind of feel like it would be better to take the dog to the dog park rather than the home improvement store. And that option is going to go away if customers continue to get bit.