In-person shopping, SF Bay area, for aging dog harness

October 17, 2014 8:19 AM

Suggestions for in-person dog harness shopping in the Bay Area?

Hi, I have a 30 lb. aging dog in the "end of life" phase (very sad), and am looking for a harness or carry aid for up and down one flight of stairs. A “Help-Em-Up” harness was suggested, but I really don't think my fussy tactile-sensitive dog will tolerate all of the straps and buckles, so I have decided not to go that route. I'm looking more for like a short soft strong blanket with cloth straps. (I may try making something out of an old towel; I am somewhat craft-impaired, however.)

Any suggestions for in-person shopping?

posted by ClaudiaCenter to Shopping (4 answers total)

Give that dog lots of love! I'm not in SF, but here's a suggestion from a friend who is:

"The SPCA has a small store at their main shelter...they might have a suggestion, if not an actual product. Muttville is around the corner...if the asker stopped in, I'm certain the vet tech or office manager could at least give an idea?"

Good luck. Older dogs are the best.
posted by roger ackroyd at 9:11 AM on October 17, 2014

Are you not able to carry her yourself? My Corgi was about that size and at the end she couldn't do stairs so I just hoisted her up and carried her (in retrospect not great for my neck with a herniated disc but we do crazy things for the ones we love!). I figured a harness/carrier thing would just be too much work to achieve about the same result.

Sorry to hear about your dog, I know how rough it is.
posted by radioamy at 10:37 AM on October 17, 2014

Best answer: I don't know SF but I do know what you're looking for. It's a firewood carrier. It's like a piece of canvas with handles on the ends. You stack the wood on the canvas and pull the handles up around the stack.
posted by irisclara at 11:11 AM on October 17, 2014 [3 favorites]

Best answer: I think a firewood carrier would be perfect (ours is leather, with leather straps).

However, if you want something more chic chic, try Holistic Hound in Berkeley. I don't love the folks there, but they do have a lot of these sorts of things. For instance, they have backpack pet carriers.
posted by small_ruminant at 6:06 PM on October 17, 2014 [1 favorite]