Bunnings worker sick of cleaning up poo asks customers not to bring dogs into stores

A fed-up Bunnings worker has made a desperate plea to a certain group of customers, saying they “don’t get paid enough” to deal with one common act.

A Bunnings worker has pleaded with customers to stop bringing their dogs to the store, saying they “don’t get paid enough to clean up” pee and poo.

The Reddit user’s rant on Tuesday has reignited the perennial Bunnings dog debate – coming just hours after a heartwarming photo of a dog’s “first visit” to the hardware store went viral on the site.

“Dear everyone who brings their dogs to Bunnings,” user smallspringonion posted in the Sydney subreddit.

“Please for the love of God stop. I don’t get paid enough to clean up your dog’s p*ss and sh*t. If you can’t train your dog to not pee indoors or simply don’t care enough to carry poop bags, for the love of God just don’t bring your dogs to a literal shop. I promise you, your pooch will be just fine at home. Go on a bush walk with them if they need the enrichment that bad. Sincerely, underpaid Bunnings worker.”

The post generated nearly 300 responses.

“The amount of people that don’t clean up after their dog in public is a joke. If they can’t even be bothered to clean up dogs mess they shouldn’t have a pet,” one wrote.

Another said, “When we do take our dogs with us to Bunnings, I always put them in a trolley with cardboard to sit on. I would never trust or even want them to walk around just on a lead. I’d be horrified if they peed or pooed in the store and I would want to clean everything up if they somehow did. I don’t understand people who bring their dogs in knowing their dogs may p*ss or poo in store and not clean it up.”

Some argued it was up to Bunnings to change its policy.

Bunnings’ dog policy has long been controversial. Picture: Gaye Gerard/NCA NewsWire

“Yes, dogs shouldn’t be p*ssing or sh*tting in store and the owners should be more responsible,” one wrote.

“But that’s a risk you take as a business when you allow pets inside. It doesn’t make it right or wrong, it’s just the risk you take.

“I used to work at Macca’s through high school and uni and I can’t even count the amount of times I had to clean strangers’ kids’ p*ss inside the playland slides. But what can you do, if a business has a playland and kids are allowed in, there’s going to be downsides.”

They added, “Also, we had a policy around who cleans and how to clean these kids’ p*ss that was told to us during on-boarding. I’m sure Bunnings or any business that actively promotes pets inside does the same. You’ll get the responsible pet owners along with the irresponsible ones. If the latter outnumber the former, then maybe it’s time to reconsider your pet policy.”

Another Bunnings employee also chimed in.

“I work on registers most of the time,” they wrote.

“It’s a pretty common occurrence for dogs to lift a leg on the entry door/trolleys/counter/display stacks as they walk in. Owners either don’t notice, or do notice and visibly pretend they don’t, even sometimes making eye contact with me and playing dumb. Luckily more often than not, they’re just cocking the leg doing the marking the territory thing and nothing comes out – but still makes me nervous in apprehension.”

They claimed that they had experienced the same thing with young children in supermarkets.

“Kid came in shopping with his dad, dad started chatting to a mate, kid stood up in the trolley, dropped his dacks and p*ssed all over the cereal shelves,” they wrote.

“Dad realised, grabbed him and ran outside. ‘I’m just taking him out to the tree, I’ll be back in a sec.’ Spoiler: he got in his car and left. Accidents happen but it’s the shitty behaviour that follows that irks me. Let a f***ing staff member know, or even better, ask us for the stuff to clean it up yourself, we’ll happily help out.”

‘Barney’s first visit to Bunnings.’ Picture: anamackey/Reddit

It comes after another Reddit user posted a photo of their dog sitting in a trolley at Bunnings earlier this week, prompting hundreds of positive responses.

“Did you get him a snag? Very cute,” one person wrote.

While Bunnings does allow dogs into stores, company policy stipulates the animals must be “friendly” and need to be secured safely in a vehicle or trolley, or on a lead and wearing a muzzle, or be carried.

The policy, first introduced in 2015, has long been controversial.

Last year, Bunnings faced renewed calls to ban dogs after an unrestrained pit bull attacked and killed a cavoodle sitting in a trolley at the Stafford store in Brisbane.

Matt Tyler, general manager of operations at Bunnings, told news.com.au the retailer stood by the policy.

“Customers have been bringing their dogs into our stores for many years,” he said.

“Dogs are allowed in our stores if they are friendly, under control and comply with the conditions of entry. We try to use a common sense approach when welcoming dogs into our stores. This includes cleaning up after dogs, which in most cases, we find owners take responsibility for.”

He added, “With an evolving pets range on offer in store, we are increasingly becoming a destination for pet owners within the Australian market.”