Going to your local coffee shop to grab something to drink first thing in the morning is a daily ritual for many - but one woman may be rethinking her routine after a recent visit. In fact, she was so "gobsmacked" by what was lurking in one woman's "baby sling" that it put her right off her drink. No, it wasn't a pet dog or even a cat that left her "too shocked" to say anything. So what was it that appalled her so much?.
"I was a bit gobsmacked today in the queue in a coffee shop. The young woman in front of me was wearing a baby sling, and out crawled a pet rat, which ran up and down her arm and had a good sniff about," she recalled on Mumsnet. The woman admitted that the rat "didn't poo, wee, bite anyone or run on the countertops," but regardless, she said that she felt really "creeped out".
She said: "Rats are not what I am expecting in an establishment serving food. I didn't say anything as, frankly, I was too shocked.". Then, she asked others for their opinion, penning: "Was I being unreasonable, and pet rats are fine? (I do think pet rats are fine if kept in your own home.).
"Should I have said something to her? Should I have complained to the manager? Plenty of people bring in dogs, after all.". In the comments, someone wrote: "She can hardly leave it outside tethered to the railings. Not that you can do that with dogs nowadays". Another added that "no animals should be in a coffee shop, dogs, rats, or otherwise".
A Mumsnetter shared: "Eh. I see what you mean, and lots of people don’t like rats. But I used to take my hedgehog to work with me on the train sometimes, so I’d be a hypocrite to complain! If the rat was under control and behaving, I don’t think I could be too bothered about it".
