I first noticed it in Oregon City. Then it hit Lake Oswego and, toward the end of the season, Hillsdale. I even wrote about it in one of my Market Watch columns in FoodDay:
"As a dog owner, I would never take my dogs to a farmers' market. The crowds would freak them out and I'd spend all my time pulling one out from under a vendor's table while the other lunged at the largest dog he saw. Yet some people still insist on taking their Maximus or Little Foo to the market, creating a tangled mess of leashes and missing the bared teeth signaling that there's about to be a bloodbath in the middle of the aisle."
And now it looks like the effort to get owners to leave their dogs at home, or at least in the car, has hit Portland's biggest market. From a press release:
"Portland Farmers Market will no longer permit shoppers to bring their dogs or other pets to its Saturday and Wednesday markets in the South Park Blocks, due to repeated concerns of market vendors and shoppers."
Look for the market at PSU to open on March 21st, with the Wednesday market in the Park Blocks starting up on April 29. The Eastbank market follows on its heels with an opening on May 7 with the Ecotrust market bringing some much-needed freshness to the Pearl on June 4.
As noted in an earlier post, the King Market, designed to serve inner North and Northeast Portland, will have its debut on May 3 and will be hopping every Sunday through September 27. So dust off your market basket and break the bad news to Spot. Or just give him a biscuit and tell him to stay.
Hollywood needs to take a cue from downtown on the dog thing. It's no longer fun at all to go to the Hollywood Market due to inconsiderate dog owners and their poorly trained dogs.
ReplyDeleteAs with everything, it's the bad, or to be slightly less judgmental, the irresponsible dog owners that create the problems. Plus the markets are just getting too crowded for that many people and dogs, too.
ReplyDeleteI had never seen a serious farmers market that allowed dogs until I came to Portland, and it seemed so strange to me. Fewer paws and tails getting stepped on is definitely a good thing!
ReplyDeletethank god. next up....those SUV sized strollers.
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