CANAL FULTON, Ohio (AP) – About a year after being banned, a sad-eyed basset hound named Franklin is back at his spot on a sofa greeting customers inside Matt’s Barber Shop.
Franklin was as much of a fixture in the shop about 60 miles south of Cleveland as the 1950s-era, green barber’s chair where the doggie sits.
“I love him,” said Franklin’s owner, Matt Schwendiman, who cuts hair and at the shop, which he owns. “I haven’t met anyone who comes in here who doesn’t like Franklin. He just gets along with everybody.”
But the 4-year-old dog was kicked out about a year ago when an inspector for the Ohio State Barber Board told Schwendiman that animals are not allowed.
During a 10-month exile to the barber’s home, Franklin just didn’t seem happy.
“At my house, he scratched my window sills up,” Schwendiman said. “When I’d leave, he would look out the picture window. He wanted to go to the barbershop.”
After a local newspaper did a story, rules were passed that allow one animal per barbershop, as long as it belongs to the shop’s owner, a vet attests to the animal’s health, and the owner obtains liability insurance.
“He’s a great dog,” said Schwendiman. “He’s just so passive. He makes you relaxed; he reminds me of myself when I’m home sleeping.”
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