Tables Turn on Vacation When Owner’s Dogs Become the Tourist Attraction

A group of dogs became a “tourist attraction” while on their travels with their owners as hundreds of people stopped to take photos.
Danielle, 32, from Derby, England, was traveling with her two Bernese dogs and her close friend Chloe, who brought along her dog as well. The pair and their pets were road tripping around France and Switzerland, with their dogs proving ultra-popular in one of their stops.
“We were quite shocked at the increased level of attention they received on holiday,” Danielle told Newsweek.
The pair were in Bern, Switzerland, when hundreds of tourists and locals stopped to take photos of their dogs. Danielle posted a video to Instagram, which has received 1.4 million views, showing the dogs sitting in the street while crowds of people held up their phones to take pictures.
The video was shared with the text overlay: “When you become a tourist attraction by accident.” Danielle wrote in the caption of the video: “100s of strangers stopped to take their photos on our trip and it was mostly a lovely experience but it did take us a very long time to escape some areas, most notably here in Bern.
“People often wanted us to wait so they could get their photo or stopped us as we were trying to leave.”
“I noticed every time I turned around, crowds were forming behind us,” she told Newsweek. “People wanted to take photos with the dogs, greet them, talk to us about the breed or show us photos of their own Bernese back home. They never failed to draw a crowd and received so much positive attention.”
Danielle and Chloe were excited to visit Bern, the area from which their dog breeds originate. Danielle owns Penny and Frejya while Chloe owns Teddy.
A report by The American Pet Products Association reveals that 55 percent of American dog owners plan their travels around the pets. Meanwhile, 88 percent of dog owners traveled with their pets over the last year, 68 percent of those traveling by plane.
“We often travel to national trust sites, the Peak and Lake District or dog friendly attractions in the U.K.,” Danielle added. “However, this was our first long distance trip and first time abroad with the dogs.
“Switzerland in particular was very dog friendly; they were allowed on all the funiculars, gondolas, trains and boats we visited. We found some much more to do while we were out there and we hope to travel again with them in the future.”
Instagram users took to the comments to share their thoughts on the video. “And aren’t they lapping it up! Gorgeous,” wrote @jillybilly362.
@iambizlie commented: “I love the way they [are] sitting for them to rake pictures.”
@phoebeandmomo said: “This is amazing! Your cuteness definitely deserves an audience.”
“Tourists or not, everyone will stop for a pic of these cuties,” wrote @girlwiththeredbob.
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