Britain Dogs Pubs BBC: Stop the Anti-Dog Nonsense

It’s a good way to get clicks — the BBC asking the loaded question “How dog-friendly should we be?” People might read “England’s changing tastes: fewer terriers, more Sheepadoodles.” People will read “We needn’t like dogs so much” because a red curtain of rage will descend, and they’ll wonder what the BBC is banging on about now. Corgi carbon imprint? Toxic breeds? The inequity implicit in the idea of “pedigree”? Decolonizing dachshunds?

Summed up, the argument is this: A minuscule number of people want dog-free spaces. The article notes that lots of people like to take their dogs to shops and pubs, and this is true. One of the finest things about England is the assumption that you can drop by your local pub for a pint and bring your beast. My favorite pub, in Walberswick, Suffolk, always has dogs about. Mabel, the stone-blind terrier sitting on a cushion in the corner, or a shaggy wolfhound sitting quiescently on the floor by the fire. It’s part of village life. Given the decline in pub population due to Labour’s tax rates, the idea that you’d further erode this great tradition by discouraging man’s best friend is one of those symptoms of madness that has gripped the ruling and chattering classes. What has happened to you people? How long before you pull down Nelson’s statue in Trafalgar Square and replace him with Keir Starmer wearing a bondage mask?

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James Lileks

James Lileks blogs at www.lileks.com.

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It’s a good way to get clicks — the BBC asking the loaded question “How dog-friendly should we be?” People might read “England’s changing tastes: fewer terriers, more Sheepadoodles.” People will read “We needn’t like dogs so much” because a red curtain of rage will descend, and they’ll wonder what the BBC is banging on about now. Corgi carbon imprint? Toxic breeds? The inequity implicit in the idea of “pedigree”? Decolonizing dachshunds?

Summed up, the argument is this: A minuscule number of people want dog-free spaces. The article notes that lots of people like to take their dogs to shops and pubs, and this is true. One of the finest things about England is the assumption that you can drop by your local pub for a pint and bring your beast. My favorite pub, in Walberswick, Suffolk, always has dogs about. Mabel, the stone-blind terrier sitting on a cushion in the corner, or a shaggy wolfhound sitting quiescently on the floor by the fire. It’s part of village life. Given the decline in pub population due to Labour’s tax rates, the idea that you’d further erode this great tradition by discouraging man’s best friend is one of those symptoms of madness that has gripped the ruling and chattering classes. What has happened to you people? How long before you pull down Nelson’s statue in Trafalgar Square and replace him with Keir Starmer wearing a bondage mask?