In Cape Cod there’s been a battle going on at the Yarmouthport Village Store over Phoebe and Max, two English bulldogs. Penny and Charlie Sullivan, the owners of the market, bring their dogs to work with them.

Many people stop by the quaint store just to visit the dogs, the problem is food is also served in the store which violates the health code. Phoebe and Max were never allowed where the food is served or prepared, but at least one person complained to the health department. Yesterday a hearing was held to decide whether or not they would be allowed to stay in the store.

Here are the details from the Cape Cod Times.

One after the other, neighbors and customers of the Yarmouthport Village Store rose to speak in favor of allowing 4-year-old Max and his mother, 7-year-old Phoebe, to stay in the quaint Route 6A store.

“One of the things I like to do when I get back here is to go to the Yarmouthport Village Store,” said Susan Nigro, who splits her time between Cape Cod and California.

Other visitors come back year after year to visit, often making a beeline for the dogs, Penny Sullivan said. “To me that’s what Cape Cod is,” she said. “It’s the little memories.”

The board of health agreed, voting unanimously in favor of a variance to allow the dogs in the store for at least one more year. The situation will then be reviewed and an exception may then be written into the Sullivans’ license, but only for Max and Phoebe.

“This is a special place and these apparently are very special creatures,” said the health panel’s chairman, Helen Shah.

I most certainly wouldn’t mind if I went to the store and Max and Phoebe were there. After all, if someone doesn’t like it they have the choice to go to another store. What do you think, would you mind their dogs being there or welcome it? Give me a bark.