Dog Not Allowed Near Business

Let me make sure I have this right. The dog is friendly. The patrons like him. The local residents WANT Zach to be able to hang out at the store. AND its a HARDWARE store! So what is the problem? Its not like someone might get a dog hair on their new hammer and get upset.

This story comes to us from ABC North Queensland.

Looks like Dogster Ebony here, a Staffy living in Sydney, is considering the situation.

Council gives marching orders to hardware store dog

Townsville residents are rallying around a Riverside business owner who has been told by the council his dog is not allowed near his store.

Townsville City Council says it received a complaint about Zach the staffy, who has become a local icon, greeting customers as they walk inside the Mitre 10 hardware store.

Councillor David Crisafulli says he has written to the Mayor, asking him to review the decision to ban the dog from the premises.

“The reality is to take the approach, look there’s an animal there, it’s a commercial building, you have to get rid of the animal – that’s just bureaucratic nonsense gone crazy,” he said.

“This dog’s been at the Riverside for four years, he was at Willows Mitre 10 for just as long, he is an institution in this community – we absolutely love him.”

The dog’s owner, Bill Clapham, who runs the hardware store, says he will close the Mitre 10 down if council will not budge on its position.

“The officer from the council said that it’s too bad, so sad, that’s as far as we’ve proceeded so far,” he said.

“Overwhelmed by the response, we knew a lot of people knew him and liked him, but the people are streaming in the door all day.”