Several pet stores in New York City’s West Village have put an end to allowing customers to buy their pooches while under the influence. DNAinfo, a Manhattan news source, reported that both Le Petit Puppy and Citipups have instituted such bans because many drunk purchasers experience buyer’s remorse once they sober up-—leading to a spike in returns the following day.
Both pet shops are located on Christopher Street, which is thick with bars and a bustling night life. It is also home to the iconic Stonewall Inn—the birthplace of the gay rights movement spurred by the Stonewall riots of 1969. Gay men and lesbians not only have a higher rate of alcoholism than their straight peers but are much more likely to own a dog or a cat—and to treat them like substitute babies. Of course, plenty of hetero revelers also fall for the adorable doggies in the windows.
Fernanda Moritz, the manager of Le Petit Puppy, told DNAinfo about a woman who appeared to be a bit too tipsy purchasing a Chihuahua only to return the pup the next morning in much worse physical state. The dog’s stomach had to be pumped by a vet after five pills were discovered inside.
Fortunately, the sadists are few and far between. Leandro Jacoby, manager of Citipups (Uptown Quality at Downtown Prices!”), says that the vast majority of people simply let the pups’ cutie-patootie factor go to their addled heads. It’s only on the next day that they start feeling the hit to their wallet—typically a substantial bruise, since these are high-end puppy palaces with pricey pure breds. Jacoby recalls a couple dishing out $3,500 for a few puppies on St. Patty’s Day—a day notorious in New York for its rampant debauchery. The following morning the duo returned to apologize and ditch their newly acquired companions.
When The Fix contacted alternate store manager, Dana Derregh, she let us in on the secret that Le Petit Puppy had actually implemented this policy about 10 years ago. “We’ve just tried to be discreet about it—we have a reputation,” she said. That reputation is being upheld by a list of celebrities who frequent the store and depart with a new four-legged-friend, including John Mayer, Robin Williams,and Sarah Jessica Parker. “No celebrities were ever drunk—they were some of the best behaved customers,” Derregh was quick to add.
Derregh told me that drunk customers patronizing the store, while far from a daily occurrence, engaged in typically idiotic and embarrassing drunken behavior. “We get people coming in, saying, ‘Here is my credit card,’ and meanwhile they are falling asleep on the counter,” she says.
“We’ve always been very careful,” Derregh says of the store’s screening process of prospective owners. Sometimes, she added, in the West Village, “it’s hard to determine if someone is eccentric or just drunk.”
This problem of impulse puppy purchasing and morning-after regrets knows no sexual orientation, according to both stores. We’ve all had the experience of waking up after a wild night next to a total stranger who may have looked good in a dark bar but in the harsh light of day looks like, well, a dog. Pity the pups who are the victims of these boozy mismatches.
