Every summer brings a fresh crop of bad tourist behavior — from folks carving their initials into ancient ruins to people who treat airplane cabins like their living room floor (you know who you are). But this summer, one tourist has truly outdone themselves.
Neuschwanstein Castle, as depicted in a postcard circa 1900
According to The Independent, a visitor to Germany’s Neuschwanstein Castle — the gorgeous building that inspired Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle — decided that the perfect place to stash her dog while touring the grounds was… wait for it… inside a locker.
Yes. A locker.
Let’s pause for a moment to appreciate the sheer audacity of this move. While most of us worry about whether it’s okay to leave our dog at home for a few hours, this traveler apparently looked at a storage locker — meant for backpacks and umbrellas — and thought, “Yeah, this’ll work for my medium-sized dog.”
The dog, described as a mixed-breed and around 60 centimeters (that’s roughly 24 inches) tall at the shoulder, was discovered and security was alerted. Thankfully, castle employees acted quickly and freed the dog, while it was still alive and well. Probably confused, maybe a little indignant, but physically OK.
Police were called, and the tourist may face charges related to animal cruelty. Because — and this really shouldn’t have to be said — dogs are not luggage.
Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de | Neuschwanstein Castle
Now, we’re not here to personally drag anyone. Maybe it was a moment of panic.
But let’s be real. There’s poor decision-making, and then there’s “I locked my dog in a castle locker” decision-making.
May your next trip come with better planning and a proper dog-sitter.
I Travel Full-Time, and I Can’t Believe I Made It Through TSA With This
Our handy (and portable!) ebook guides make sure you get the best deals and can plan a vacation of a lifetime.
Disgusting!!!!! That person should be placed in the same locker. Hopefully the animal was removed and rehomed. I have no sympathy for people who treat children and animals unkindly.
Reading about the poor dog put in a locker, unbelievable! I certainly hope they were charged with animal cruelty and the dog taken from them permanently. Nobody can be that cruel.
I really hope they tell us the name of the person that did this so we can constantly shame them online. I also hope the dog has been taken from the owner and placed in a home that’ll take good care of animals.