This French rule surprised me when I got a dog in France!
Being from the PacNW, I spent much of my free time at the beach, often with my dog in tow. Our old yellow lab, Pete, taught the young german shorthair, Gabi, how to swim in a bay off the Oregon coast.
Gabi ran up and down the shoreline, screaming and crying at Pete. And he was happily swimming in circles, using his tail as a rudder. She finally couldn’t handle it and jumped in – and we almost did after her! At first, Gabi was such an awful swimmer that we thought she would sink!
Rose and Pearl, true sisters with the same mom and dad, were born here in France. Because of Pearl, I discovered the turquoise waters of Brittany – they’re from this region.
Like many of the surprises and challenges as an immigrant in France, my assumptions trip me up every time. I assumed that I could take Pearl with me to the beach. Little did I know that most of the beaches in France are not open to dogs – either seasonally or year-round.
I have learned that being a dog owner in France requires a little bit of extra work and advanced research. Restaurants with terraces accept dogs, but many won’t allow them indoors. All but one beach along this coastline have restrictions from mid-May to mid-September, except for Saint-Malo, which strictly forbids them year-round.
In the States, I used to take my dogs to the home improvement stores like Home Depot, where they were greeted by customers and staff alike with treats at the checkout register. Here? The big chain equivalent won’t allow the girls in, so I spend all my renovation dollars at @leclerc Brico, who does. 🙌🙌🙌
And while there are 530 parks and green spaces in Paris, only 126 accept the girls.
These rules are not good or bad – they’re just different from what I once knew. And that is just part of the process of living in a new country – adapting your best to these unexpected challenges & changes.
Bisous & bon weekend from Bretagne,
Shannon, Rose & Pearl
#france #frenchbulldog #bretagne #brittany #travelfrance #frenchie