If you’re anything like my family, you’re attached at the hip to your pet.

If you’ve been wondering where in Sumter you can and can’t bring your pup, look no further! I’ve put together a list of popular businesses in Sumter that are pet friendly. All of the below businesses are happy to welcome you and your dog as long as they’re well behaved and leashed!

Before we dive into the list, if you’re interested in bringing your new puppy or adult dog along with you on some errands, but you’re not confident they’ll be on their best behavior here are some tips from my own personal experience. The best way I’ve found to make sure your dog is ready to go into stores is to start by testing them out in parking lots and other busy areas like downtown streets or parks. This will help them stay in tune to you and what you’re asking of them while there are lots of other distractions! Keep them leashed close to your side and practice their “heel” command. They have to be comfortable walking right next to you if you’re going to expect them to weave in and out of store aisles. When you’re shopping with your dog there will likely be lots of goodies down at nose level for them to sniff at or even pick up. You can practice preparing your dog to “leave it” by leashing them in your own home and building a little obstacle course to go through with tempting (dog safe) items at their eye level. Once you’ve got all those skills on lock, the most dog friendly type of store to start at would be a pet specialty store or the hardware store. Let’s get into some of the ones at our disposal in Sumter.

Pet Specialty & Hardware Stores

1. Lowe’s
2. Harbor Freight
3. Simpson’s Ace Hardware
4. Tractor Supply
5. Sherwin-Williams Paint Store
6. Petco

Each of these stores are totally cool with you bringing your pets of any kind. Just make sure you pick up after them if any accidents happen!

While we’re on the topic of big brand stores, there are a few here in Sumter that I was surprised to learn are ok with pets.

Big Brands That’ll Surprise You

1. Ross
2. TJ Maxx
3. Hobby Lobby
4. Staples

These stores all state on their corporate websites that they’re pet friendly! If you’d like to be absolutely positive before you bring your dog with you, you can always give the local store a call before you head out. At a store like Ross & TJ Maxx that can be super crowded or cluttered, I’d personally leave my large dog at home unless I need to make sure a collar or a bed on sale is the right size for her.

Sumter Small Businesses

1. Plant Haven
2. Silverpaper
3. Office Church School Supply
4. Tiller Ridge Sunglasses
5. The Olive Tree and Doolallies
6. Bohemian Swan

I’ve called all of these small businesses to ask if they’re ok with pets. As mentioned at the top of the blog, all of these store owners told me pets are welcome as long as they’re well behaved and leashed! Just a heads up, if you haven’t visited Silverpaper, The Olive Tree and Doolallies, or Bohemian Swan these stores all have a ton of gorgeous merchandise, so the space can sometimes be a little tight and there are breakables. If your dog can get a little excited I’d practice those commands I mentioned previously before bringing them to any of the shops with limited space.

Restaurants

1. Sumter Original Brewery – Dogs absolutely allowed on the rooftop, it’s preferred that dogs are only inside the brewery if they’re on their way to the roof.
2. Sonic – Dogs welcome on the patio
3. Starbucks – Dogs welcome on the patio
4. Pelican’s Snoballs – Walk up!
5. Sidebar – Dogs welcome on the patio
6. Palmetto Oyster House – Dogs welcome on the patio
7. J O’Grady’s – Dogs welcome on the patio
8. Brubakers – Has 2 outdoor tables so first come first serve!

Another disclaimer: while all of these restaurants are ok with you bringing your dog, other diners might not be so stoked. There’s been quite a bit of discourse on social media from Sumterites who would rather not eat next to your pup. For that reason I always keep respectfulness in mind when I bring my dog to a restaurant with me! It never hurts to double check with your server and table neighbor that you’re not bothering anyone. Kindness and courtesy goes a long way.

The list is still growing!

This list has been posted in September of 2022 and I intend to keep adding to it as I learn of more pet friendly businesses in town. If you regularly shop at or own a business that welcomes dogs please comment below and I’ll add it to the list! I can’t wait to run all my errands with my dog in tow 🙂