Just keep them off the weight machines

When you get off work do you have a decision to make — whether to give your dog a chance to exercise ... or yourself?

A San Francisco couple had that dilemma and came up with a business solution.

They opened a gym with doggie daycare.

Fit Bernal Fit, in Bernal Heights, is, according to a San Francisco Chronicle article by staff writer Meredith May, one of the first in the nation to offer pet owners a place for their pooches to play while they work out.

Read the whole article here.

So far, half the 245 Fit Bernal Fit members have signed up for dog care services at the gym.

Armed with treats, a stern voice, and an assortment of toys, [owner] Jeanne [Eriksen] coaxes the shy dogs and plays with the energetic ones in the playroom, which features a big window so dogs can keep an eye on the gym.

She can also take the dogs to a separate outdoor lounge area off the back of the building, where dogs can run in a fenced-in outdoor space covered in small pebbles.

Eriksen, along with her husband Dean, were wisely aware of how risky opening a small business in a such a depressed economy can be. They gave themselves seven months to make a profit in their business plan.

They were wrong. They turned a profit in six weeks.

Shopping gone to the dogs

And that's a good thing.

A new shopping mall Clinton Township, Mich., north of Detroit, welcomes dogs and even provides cleanup bags and water stations.

According to the freep.com Web site (that's the Detroit Free Press), the Mall at Partridge Creek, an open-air shopping center, allows dogs and their owners on the premises.

Shop 'till you drop? Only if you pick it up!

Out of 90 stores, 28 allow dogs inside, including Apple, Eddie Bauer, Lenscrafters, Samsonite and Sur La Table.

That's great. Not only could I buy Kate an iPod, a winter coat, a pair of glasses (or contacts) and some luggage, I could get her a complete set of dinnerware.

Hey, Poughkeepsie Galleria, are you listening?