Pooch pushers: Doggy strollers are more than what meets the eye

Adelaide woman Letitia Lamprell knows she’s getting judged for using a dog stroller, but she remains a proud pooch pusher. Would you use a dog stroller? Have your say.

With pet pampering on the rise, it might be fair to assume someone pushing their dog in a stroller is part of the craze. But for Letitia Lamprell and her pup Buddy, that isn’t the case.

After being found abandoned following the death of his previous owner, Buddy was about to be put down. Thankfully Ms Lamprell adopted the nine-year-old Jack Russell cross just in time.

When Ms Lamprell received Buddy, his cruciate ligament was torn, leaving him unable to walk properly.

Determined to provide a quality life for her pup, Ms Lamprell shows Buddy the world, all from the comfort of a doggy stroller.

“He thinks he’s the king when he’s in that stroller and he’s wandering around,” she said.

The pair go for an hour-long walk each day along the Brighton and Seacliff esplanades, however their relaxing walks are often met with stares and unwelcomed comments.

“People just think that I’m being indulgent – that I’m spoiling a very spoiled dog,” Ms Lamprell said.

Letitia Lamprell pushes her dog Buddy in a stroller with her granddaughter Bella, 10. Picture: Kelly Barnes

“They (people) look and smirk and make their little comments and I’ve said to a few people, ‘he’s got sore legs,’ but they just keep walking.

“I just think everybody should be better educated,” she said.

“If people don’t like walking a dog in a stroller they don’t have to.”

Someone even told Ms Lamprell wheeling Buddy was “embarrassing”.

“It’s not embarrassing at all, not for me and not for my little dog,” she said.

“We both get out, he’s in the fresh air and he’s seeing the sights.”

While out on their daily walks, Ms Lamprell and Buddy often stop and chat to other dogs and their owners who also push their pets in strollers.

Letitia Lamprell isn’t embarrassed to walk Buddy in a stroller. “He thinks he’s the king” when he’s in there, she says. Picture: Kelly Barnes

“I’ve seen several people with their dogs in strollers, we’ll stop and say ‘hi, how’s your little dog going?’ And we will chat because we’ve got a common bond,” Ms Lamprell said.

The other stroller dogs wheel around mostly because of old age, Ms Lamprell said, who hasn’t met a pampered pooch in a stroller so far.

“Every little animal deserves a second chance and if it means going out in a stroller, well let it be a stroller.”