As a membership-only retail store, Costco requires people to scan a card before entering, and although it isn’t needed for service dogs, one handler thought her canine also needed one.
Rambo, a service poodle, is no stranger to visiting Costco. He goes with his handler while she shops, but not for a casual stroll; he is constantly on duty as a cardiac alert dog. These service dogs are trained to detect anomalies in heartbeats and blood pressure changes. If there is a sudden change, they alert their owners, as stated in an article from Service Dog Certifications. They assist during and after by providing crucial support.
It was another Costco outing for Rambo and his owner. However, this time, they went to the customer service desk to renew their membership. That’s when a brilliant idea popped into the owner’s mind: Rambo needs his own membership card.
She asked the Costco employees if her service dog could also get a membership card, and they agreed without hesitation. In the August 31 TikTok video posted to the account @rambo_theservicepoodle, Rambo sat front and center, posing for the camera. He knew it was his time to shine and finally become an “official Costco member.”
Rambo beat the system, too—the employees gave him the card for free. It must have been his adorableness that got him the free price.
Screenshots from an August 31 TikTok video of a service dog getting a Costco membership card. The owner was renewing hers and asked if Rambo could get one, too.
@rambo_theservicepoodle/TikTok
After receiving the card, the owner and Rambo returned to the front to double-check it worked. She scanned his card at the kiosk where you check in, and, low and behold, his image popped up on the screen.
Unknowingly, the owner thinks she might have started a trend for service dogs. The owner told Newsweek via TikTok: “Others have mentioned next time they visit the store, they will do it too.”
Newsweek reached out to Costco for comment.
The TikTok video amassed 417,00 views, 67,400 likes and 372 comments as of Wednesday.
“He is so handsome and now can buy his own hotdog at the cafe,” commented a viewer.
“The way he was looking around like, ‘I get to have my own membership? You really mean it mom?'” another commenter wrote.
“The employees have been waiting to make a doggo membership and you made it a core memory for them,” a third person commented.
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