To lick or not to lick?

                                                                                                                                                                   

I was listening to our local radio station this morning in my car on my way to work. The hosts were discussing a topic that got me thinking a bit and I thought, I should take a poll myself and see what other people think.


Here’s the scenario. While at a friends for dinner he (the radio show host) noticed after dinner that the hosts of the dinner party placed the empty plates from the meal on the floor for their dog to lick clean. This shocked him.

My first thought was that clearly this man does not have a pet. I have really come to find that pet owners often are oblivious that these types of things could be questionable. And I get it, I guess. The animals are a part of their family. They are used to them. They don’t notice the hair they shed, the drool they drop in random places and the odd things they lick and sniff quite as much as a non-pet owner might. Each to their own right? After my initial reaction I wondered however, maybe some pet owners would find this unacceptable as well?

I am not a pet owner but it doesn’t mean I hate animals. I just see them lick themselves (and other animals and such as well actually) in unsavoury places and don’t want that same tongue licking me, that’s all. No biggie okay? If that makes me a “princess” then well I guess it does.

I do acknowledge that the dishes are surely washed properly with soap and water after the dogs have finished their "prewash". But is that enough to ease your mind and wash the thought of it away for you?

They took some calls from listeners to see how people weighed in on the topic. Is it gross? Is there nothing to even talk about? How would feel about eating there again? Would you say anything to the dinner host or keep it to yourself? The responses were very mixed.

Does this sound like no big deal to you? Do you do this yourself with your own pooches? Would you eat there again knowing this?

Don’t be shy; let me know your opinion!