I always feel sad and anxious when I see dogs left outside shops like this, which I imagine is pretty much how the dogs themselves feel. I spotted this trio while out shopping and watched them for at least five minutes before I had to move on. Their owner was nowhere to be seen. I did check on them later and they had been collected, but they should never have been left in the first place. Our dogs would never leave us in this fashion, and they deserve better treatment than this.
As you can see in the picture one dog's lead has got caught under another dog's stomach, and I would be too worried about my dogs strangling or otherwise injuring themselves to leave them tethered like this. Of course there is the obvious danger of them being stolen too. Jane Hayes from DogLost told me that if your dog is ever stolen the most likely place to find them is in the nearest pub being sold to fund whatever habit the thief has. With the owner completely out of sight there is also the possibility that the dog can be deemed out of control in a public place, and the consequences of this can be extremely serious; sadly more serious for the dog than the owner.
All in all it's just not worth leaving a dog tied up in this way. If they can't accompany you where you are going they are far better left at home. While I watched these three, the dog at the back rested his chin on the dog standing in front of him with an air of resignation, and the gesture - and its toleration - indicated such solidarity between the dogs that I really felt sorry for them. There is a strong message that dogs don't belong in pet shops, but I'd like to add to that that they certainly don't belong tied up outside shops either.
Take care,
Julie x