You've Got Tail

I hit it off with a woman on an online dating site, and she showed up at the bar for our date with an unruly chihuahua in her handbag. She acted like it was no big deal at all, but she had to hold her purse close to her to keep the dog calm, and the server eventually saw it, so we had to leave. I really liked her initially, but I thought her bringing a pet on a date was really rude. A friend said that the purse dog thing is becoming commonplace and that I shouldn't nix her because of it.

--Irked

People usually want the howling and scratching to come after the date. Unless you're meeting at a dog park, it's no more okay to show up with your dog on the first date than it is to bring your cow, your lobster, or some 3-year-old you happened to find wandering around the mall. This woman was sending you a message about the things she has little interest in: your feelings, whether the bar gets fined by the health department, and the point of a date -- for two people to focus on each other rather than on distracting the server from a growling purse. So, yes, you absolutely should nix her -- before she realizes that someone's going to have to curl up on the floor beside the bed. (If you're a good boy about it, she'll throw you your favorite squeaky toy a few times before it's lights out.)