12 Feb 2026
Dog owners were taken by surprise after the St Peter’s Street branch of Boots the Chemist imposed an unpublicised ban.
The store was previously featured on Enjoy St Albans’ list of attractions, cafés, pubs, shops, and restaurants that warmly welcome our four-legged friends.
But as of last week Boots apparently changed its policy to disallow dogs in store.
One regular shopper said: “Whilst I understand that they have the right to change this policy it does affect people that have to come and collect prescriptions which happened to me today.
“I wasn’t aware this had changed and urgently needed to collect a prescription. This meant I was not able to pick it up as I didn’t have time to return home, drop dog off and come back before closing hours.
“Not getting medicine can be a life and death situation. I’ve had my dog for five years and he’s always been allowed in. It’s a real shame for the community and staff on the make-up counters said that they lost valuable clients this weekend as people were unaware and could not come into pre-booked appointments and purchase as normal.”
But things took an odd turn after we contacted the Boots press office. A statement received from the company suggested dogs had never been allowed in the store.
A Boots spokesperson said: “As a healthcare provider, Boots does not allow animals in its stores, except for guide dogs and assistance animals. This is not a new policy, but we understand the team in our St Albans store has recently sought to clarify this policy to customers through store signage.”
So does this mean the store manager has been flouting company rules for years? Unfortunately the press office would not answer any further questions.
St Albans City Centre BID was also contacted for comment.
