A man was kicked out of Aldi for putting his dog in a trolley - were they right to eject him?

An Aldi shopper has spoken of his anger after he was asked to leave the supermarket when he put his dog in one of the trollies.

Jody Pearson put his puppy in the shopping trolley so that he could keep an eye on it as he made his way around the store.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Pearson decided to take his pet in with him as he was concerned about ongoing issues of theft in the area, the Huddersfield Examiner reported.

But the staff at the supermarket were not happy with his decision, and asked him to leave.

He felt it was unsafe to leave his pet outside

Mr Pearson took to Facebook to express his anger over the situation. He wrote, “I can’t believe I’ve just been made to leave your store in Milnsbridge, Huddersfield for having my puppy in a trolley.

“It would be understandable if it was safe to leave a dog outside the store.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

His post has drawn a mixture of support and criticism from fellow Aldi shoppers.

Some expressed concern about the health and safety dangers of putting a dog in a trolley that comes into contact with other shoppers’ food.

Mark Fanshaw typed, “Yeah thanks for that. I've used those trollies to put food in. Now my foods been on your dog’s backside. Why not think of others before selfishly breaching health and safety and food hygiene rules?”

Health and safety concerns

But others pointed out that since assistance animals such as guide dogs are allowed in the shops, other dogs should be too, as there is no difference in how dirty they would be.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Sue Williams wrote, “Assistance dogs are allowed in shops for good reason and unless they’ve been ‘contaminated’ with something unusual, then they bring as much dirt or germs, or whatever people are stressing about, into the shop as any other dog would or that’s on your own shoes.

“Personally I think dogs should be allowed in shops rather than seeing them tied up outside if there’s no other option but I must say putting him in the trolley is a bit much.”

Messages of support

One person added, "But parents think it's acceptable to stand their children in a trolley with their mucky shoes on."

And another posted, "I actually live near Milnsbridge and can confirm that the crime rate is horrendous here so I don’t blame the man for taking his puppy shopping with him inside the store."

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

In his edited version of the post, Mr Pearson said that he normally found the Aldi staff at the shop very helpful.

He added, “To those concerned about contaminating the trolley, you can clearly see there is something between him and the basket lining.

“To those saying leave him outside, there is an ongoing issue with theft in this area, I’m quite sure they’d get more for my puppy than they would the alcohol and tins of coffee they’re stealing from inside the shops.”

Aldi has been contacted for comment.