Supermarket in Finland welcomes dogs, with special carts for canine customers

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.

Shelter Canine ‘Best Friends’ Unknowingly Enjoy Last Day Out Together

Living in a shelter can be hard for animals but these two pit bull terriers have managed to make the best out of a bad situation.

Moon Pie and Clipper, both two years old, have been joined at the hip for the past six months in Lifeline Animal Project, an intake shelter for stray dogs in Atlanta, Georgia.

Recently, Connor Abdo, an animal welfare advocate, treated the “best friends” to a day on November 5 and captured all of their fun on camera.

“The shelter is a very stressful environment for the dogs so having a friend is really helpful,” Abdo told Newsweek.

From making friends with strangers to slurping a puppuccino, Abdo said, “they had the best day ever.”

The video was uploaded to Abdo’s dog supply business, @salvation_bark, on TikTok, where shelters receive a donation of half the proceeds.

During the video, the pair can barely contain their excitement as they smile while riding in the back of Abdo’s car. It soon becomes clear that they weren’t shy and are willing to greet everyone they meet.

“They are the definition of you can’t judge a book by its cover. They are both big softies who love kisses, other dogs, and playing,” Abdo said.

However, the video has a bittersweet twist because it’s the final time the tan and white dog, Clipper, will play with Moon Pie, as he has since been adopted.

“It is sad for Moon Pie that his friend is gone but we are confident he will be adopted soon. It is difficult to find an adopter willing to take both dogs though.

“Moon Pie would thrive in any environment. He’d love a dog friend,” Abdo said.

So far, the clip has over 6,000 views and more than 1,000 likes along with plenty of comments.

One user said: “I’m a volunteer and I do this for all the long term dogs at a local shelter. They needed that much needed break from the shelter. So thank you!!!”

Another pointed out: “They seem so well behaved!”

“Such softies who just need love,” said another person.

Another said: “I hope they find forever homes soon.”

Recently, a shelter volunteer showed the reality of living in a shelter for one dog who is yet to be adopted after 1,058 days. But dreams do come true, as proven by Nova, a dog who has finally found a loving family to call her own after more than two years in a shelter.

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