I wrote a post years ago, LOWE’S NO LONGER ALLOWS DOGS. It has been, oddly enough, one of the most popular posts on my blog. It isn’t a fantastic story, and for sure not noted for superior word play, but it did kind of disturb the hornets nest of dog lovers and their counter parts, dog haters.
While there are a lot of comments on there, please note, I delete most comments that come in for that post as they are hateful, ugly, crude, and just not helpful. Oh often? About twenty a week get chucked.
AND THEN, On February 18, 2016, one of our posters RAINA wrote in, that he and some friends have been working on Lowe’s to allow dogs once again, and they said YES, he included the letter from Lowes, you can scroll down and read it in the comments.
YAY, dogs are allowed again, but not just any dog. There is a whole specific list from Lowe’s of their expectations of the dogs entering their store.
SO, since March, I have been encouraging our clients with puppies to go walk in the store, get in good practice, shop, and socialize in a managed way.
TODAY, the end part of August, Rhumb and I were hitting several stores for canning and kitchen supplies for our fall harvest that I am putting up right now.
LAST STOP today was Lowe’s. Rhumb is getting so good at walking next to the shopping cart as long as we go slow so she can choose her path. She was a rock star today. We ran into a couple of clients getting some DIY stuff, visited for a bit.
AND then I turned the corner, and there is a large dog running through the front doors, sans leash or owner, and started running straight for us, so we turned down an aisle towards the outdoor nursery, and then another aisle. When we went through the nursery doors I turned to look and the dog was still coming our way while visiting with every single person in his way. People were looking confused, and looking around for the owner.
Then I stopped at the register outside and told them there was an off leash dog in the store, and I thought ALL dogs must be on leash. The dog stopped in the open sliding doors, barked at us, turned around and ran back into the store.
THIS MY FRIENDS is what gives dog owners a super bad name. This is why some people look at people with their dogs with a slight bit of disdain.
I want access to stores for me and my dogs, and other responsible dog owners, and especially puppy owners. In a winter environment having access to stores of super shitty days is good mental and physical exercise as well as managed socialization.
People who do not use a leash in a public store fry my brain. There is NO reason at all to have a dog off leash in a store and let them run around like it is a dog park. None.
Please be responsible, please be kind, please be a good owner, and please have some level of fucking respect for those around you, and the store you are in.
Nancy
Nancy Tanner 
Amen
Wow, I guess I have been pretty fortunate not to encounter that sort of thing, although I wouldn’t take my dog to Lowe’s, as she is too excitable for that kind of a situation; not aggressive, she just wants to pull me over to people so she can say hi, the big goof. 😉 But I hate it when irresponsible owners give all dog owners a bad name. Not quite fair, I’d say.
Again and again, I rush to pick up my dog when other owners either walk off leash or drop their leash, citing my dog is friendly. My response always is “but maybe mine isn’t or maybe they won’t like each other”. My heart skips beats every time this happens
I take Seamus and Teaghan there almost every day. More I home depot, when Lowe’s had their policy I didn’t go, and haven’t gotten in the habit of going back very often.
I’ve only had one or two dogs off-leash in the store, I guess I was lucky because they were superbly trained and their owners just basically had to look at them and they came running back. But I agree with you, there is no damn reason for a dog to be off leash in one of the stores.
I think it is interesting that you get so many comments that have to be chucked. People can express their opinions without being rude. Anyway, I was under the impression that each Lowe’s store has it’s own policy about dogs. My local store has allowed dogs for the 3 years that I have had Tippy, even after one of the employees got bitten. They just now warn their employees to not pet the animals that come in and if they do, it is at their own risk. I have never encountered an off-leash dog in a store. That is seriously wrong, in my opinion. Even if they are friendly, another dog may not be dog friendly. If all are on leash, a potentially bad situation can be avoided.
this is the comment left by RAINA on Feb. 2016 …
I’m not sure how many people will check back on this site for updates but I have good news!! Well, great news for me at least. I have been writing letters to corporate Lowe’s about changing their official policy to allow friendly, leashed dogs in their store. As of last week it became official!! I will quote the response I got from Lowe’s.
“Good morning,
Thank you for your emails. I do appreciate your business with us at Lowe’s.
In regards to your inquiry, I would be happy to assist you. Lowe’s is now allowing pets that are not service animals in our stores. We are currently updating our site to reflect the new policy.
Over the years, pets have become an integral part of the family unit and may be included in a family’s daily activities such as shopping. While Lowe’s continues the responsibility of adhering to the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements for allowing a service animal to accompany its owner or handler, being a pet friendly store is one a way to reinforce Lowe’s purpose throughout the customer’s experience in the store.
Service animals and pets are allowed in all Lowe’s stores. The care and supervision of service animals and pets is solely the responsibility of its owner or handler. The owner or handler must be in full control of the animal at all times, as outlined below:
The owner or handler must always have direct physical control of the animal by one or both of the following methods.
The animal must be:
Heeling or walking calmly beside the owner or handler
Harnessed, leashed, or carried
Service animals must follow the same guidelines as stated above, unless these means interfere with the service animal’s work or if the customer’s disability prevents such means. The service animal must be otherwise under the owner or handler’s control (e.g., voice control, signals, or other effective measures).
The animal’s behavior must not disrupt other customers or its surroundings in the store. Disruptive behavior includes, but is not limited to, aggression towards other animals or people, jumping on people or surroundings, barking, growling, etc.
Exclusion of a pet or service animal
Reasons for excluding a pet or service animal include:
The animal is not under the direct physical control of the owner/handler.
The animal’s behavior is disruptive to its surroundings, other customers, or employees.
The animal poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others.
The owner/handler fails to comply with any of their responsibilities as detailed in this policy under this and/or the ADA governed policy.
. If you have additional questions or concerns, please let me know and I’d be happy to assist you further. Thank you for choosing Lowe’s and I hope you have a great day.
For additional assistance reply to my email or call Lowe’s Customer Care at 1-800-445-6937. Hours of operation: Monday – Saturday, 7:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. Sunday, 8:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Thank you,
Claudia M.
Lowe’s Customer Care”
The individual stores used to “bend” the rules and allowed dogs into some of their stores but not others and since their policy used to officially be only service dogs employees rarely enforced customers who brought in dogs that misbehaved. Hopefully things will now improve as I have 7 large furry kids that so love being my shopping buddy.
You are right. Now that they have a nationwide policy in place, maybe things will be better. I don’t know why anyone would take a dog into a store that wasn’t on leash…unless it is a service dog. It’s for the safety of the dog as well as the safety of others. Love taking Tippy to Lowes.
I have noticed over this past year the word is spreading about Lowe’s and I’m happy to encounter more dogs in the store. I still receive comments very often how my dogs have a special personality than most dogs that visit but then again my dogs visit 3 to 4 times a week and know every employee. I think my dog Raina is still the favorite of my dogs even though she’s a Rottweiler 😆