I went to the mall today with my mom and Angry Kid.  Our intention was to go to the new Nordstrom here at Fashion Island in Newport Beach. It had just opened on Friday, and I love me some Nordstrom.

Angry Kid was quite wild but we tamed him with a new belt from Peek Kids and a Build-A-Bear. Don’t judge, my mom bought him off today, not me.  She’s a grandmother, that’s her job.

It was a beautiful day outside in Southern California, and this is an outdoor mall.  We rarely go to this mall, as there is an outdoor mall closer to my house with almost the exact same stores.  Within minutes of arriving at the mall, we immediately noticed something. There was an overabundance of dogs. I get it, it’s an outdoor mall, they allow dogs.

I’ve lived in Orange County since I was eleven. I’m used to the so-called “yuppie purse dogs”.  I have Chihuahuas.  But these were not the cute sweater wearing highly accessorized purse dogs, these were big dogs. When Angry Kid was dancing around the big fountain in the center of the mall, I saw two English Bulldogs, a Chihuahua, a Boxer, and an Australian Shepherd. All of these dogs were on leashes, but there were at least twenty five children in the area.

After feeding Angry Kid, we headed towards Nordstrom.  I immediately noticed patio tables outside the store with families and young children.  I also noticed more dogs.  I’ve been going to Fashion Island for a long time. I have NEVER seen this many dogs there.

Upon entering the store, through the mall entrance, I saw how crowded the store was.  It was the third day since it had been open, and business was good.  The entrance, which was technically the second story, placed us directly in the shoes, handbags, and cosmetics departments.  I’m a huge shoe addict, so I headed toward the shoes, naturally.  There were tons of pretty couches laid out where customers were receiving excellent service from Nordstrom employees (seriously, they have the best service). But I noticed something about the shoe department instantly.  I saw several people had their dogs sitting on the couches in the shoe department.  On one of the couches, I saw two small dogs bouncing around.  The owner was ignoring them and getting fitted for shoes.  I just looked at my mom and rolled my eyes.

I wanted to explore the store more, but I had to push my way through the crowds.  Like I said, it was a beautiful day out, and everyone in Orange County seemed to be at Nordstrom. But seriously, pushing our way through the crowds, meant walking around the people with their VERY BIG dogs within the store.

When then headed downstairs towards the children’s clothing and women’s apparel sections.  Angry Kid immediately ran towards the children’s shoes department, which had an awesome salt water fish tank. As I was heading over there, I heard a woman exclaim very loudly that “her child (a wee small one, probably one-ish) was eye to eye with a larger type dog.  I knew instantly what she was thinking since I also had a small child in the store.

I’m just trying to understand how people think that this is ok? Why does Nordstrom and the rest of the merchants in this mall allow this? I would think that this would be a huge liability.  I’ve seen dogs look at each other wrong before and start fighting.  Sometimes, dog owners are not strong enough to pull their dogs out of these fights and can also get injured along the way.  This is a shopping mall with tons of small children running around.  People also have allergies to dogs.

I have two small dogs, less than 15 pounds each.  I would never think to bring them to the mall. We’ve taken them to dog beach, and to several dog parks.  All of those experiences were not good.  These dogs wouldn’t harm anyone, but got somewhat “bitchy” in these dog meet-ups.  I have nothing against pitbulls, boxers, or other large dogs, I really don’t.  But seriously, not everyone is comfortable around these types of dogs, and does not expect to come into contact with dogs like this at the local mall, in an actual department store.

Apparently Fashion Island has the unofficial title as “Orange County’s Dog Mall”. I guess I did not realize that.  I don’t think that I will be going to Fashion Island unless I’m meeting someone there now.  I used to love going there, as they have beautiful landscaping, and I practically grew up running around there. I’m just too worried, that I might accidentally step in poop while shopping for the new shoes or simple a teddy bear for my son.

I’m not the only one irritated by this.  My friend Suzanne, is also writing a blog post about Nordstrom.  When I came home from the mall earlier today, I sorta vented on Twitter.  I got a reply from LA Stylist Mom about a post that she wrote a month ago, about The Grove in Los Angeles.

My mom was completely freaking out and almost had a panic attack about the entire situation.  She was calling her friends and venting on her cellphone, the entire way home.

Do you think it is odd that they are allowing dogs and/or these big dogs in Department Stores?