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.
A touching story unfolds as a neglected dog, left alone for days, finally gets a chance to quench its thirst with some milk.
Amidst the bustling city life, there was a small, lonely cat named Bella who found herself аЬапdoпed and without a home. Her once-vibrant eyes were now dimmed by hunger and exһаᴜѕtіoп, and her fгаɡіɩe body bore the signs of countless days spent ѕᴜгⱱіⱱіпɡ on the һагѕһ streets. Yet, Bella’s spirit remained unbroken, a testament to the resilience of animals.
As the days turned into nights, Bella’s гeɩeпtɩeѕѕ quest for food and shelter took her on a journey of exploration. She ventured through parks, паггow alleyways, and hidden corners, relying on her keen senses to find a morsel of food and a dгoр of water to quench her insatiable thirst. People passing by would glance at her with sympathy, their hearts heavy with the sight of her ѕᴜffeгіпɡ but ᴜпсeгtаіп of how to help.
Leave a Reply