Perils of Caffeine in the Evening

A couple weeks ago, as I sat in a cafe in my neighborhood, I looked across the street and was intrigued, and then amused to see this sign:

For about a half-second, I thought it could be a startlingly candid hair salon. I mean, it’s about as hard for a salon to distinguish itself around here as it is for espresso shops and Thai restaurants, they’re so abundant. A tick later, though, I knew it had to be about pets, and I was right - it’s a store stocked with products targeted at owners of female dogs that feel compelled to pamper and anthropomorphize them.

The sign, and its use of the word “bitch”, has caused a little outcry in my urban, blue-state neighborhood, although it’s more of a PC-based complaint than a “family-values” one. My first reaction was that it was cute and clever, and to urge the application of a little humor; for instance, in the interest of inclusiveness, I’d pair the shop with one for cat owners called The Persnickety Pussy. We also have some chicken-keepers in the ‘hood who might be drawn to The Discriminating Cocksman.

But then, if you read some of the reader comments to the article, you can start to appreciate the position that a certain permission has been granted to those who use the word in a hateful fashion, and that perhaps there’s a slippery slope[Ethnic references redacted]. But it’s going to be a problem for a neighborhood that is home to Dick’s Drive-In and a bakery that sells marzipan penises to make a “community standards” argument against this sign.

One thing I can’t get beyond (if you click on the photo) - that dog’s ears are pierced.