Wilko announces major change to store rules – but not all customers are happy

Kevin Law said: “It’s a nice gesture, but not everyone likes dogs, even well-behaved ones. I can see this backfiring on Wilko when an incident occurs. You are not a pet shop, dog owners can socialise their pets elsewhere, shoppers shouldn’t need to worry about being confronted by a dog whilst buying wallpaper, toilet rolls and biscuits. Assistance dogs are one thing, but not all dogs!” 

Bridget Stevens mentioned: “Not good when assistance dogs are in shop’s working and keeping their handlers safe and they get barked at and attacked from pet dogs that aren’t in control.” 

Samantha Ralfe also said the idea isn’t good for guide dogs: “As a Guide Dog user, I think this is a rather ill-thought through the idea. It’s hard enough navigating around the shop to begin with then adding extra distractions of other animals it could end in disaster. Unfortunately not every animal owner can be bothered to train their dogs correctly what will happen if any assistance dog is attacked in store will Wilkos Footing the vets bills.”