Only in Paris

Only in Paris….do people take their (usually very tiny) dogs everywhere. And I do mean everywhere. People give you this scandalized look when you walk into a café with a backpack. I imagine them thinking, “Non! A backpack! Bof! Quelle horreur!!”…but they don’t even bat an eyelash when a couple comes in with their dog and then proceed to put the pooch in a chair. I’ve even heard (but haven’t seen this in person) of dogs being served bowls of water.
Usually, I find all the dogs very charming. They go into stores, they ride the metro, they wear sweaters when it’s cold and raincoats when it’s drizzling. However, there is a consequence of so many dogs, and it’s not fun or cute at all: dog poop.
You may think that this post is silly, but spending any amount of time in Paris requires skillful navigation of the sidewalk. I consider myself very lucky to have stepped in a mess only once. The sidewalks are typically safe, but you HAVE to watch where you step around trees or any strip of sand. In the US, I give people who don’t clean up after their dogs dirty looks when I walk by them. Here, “doggie bags” don’t exist. There are PSA campaigns that say things like “I love my neighborhood!” and this…

Painted on the sidewalk, these still serve as friendly reminders not to pollute the sidewalk (use the gutter or road instead!) Only in Paris.