Italian Cafe Slammed For Overcharging Dog

Dogs tend to live well in Europe, and a person can even take a dog on a high-end culinary pet vacation, but pets don't always get a free ride. One cafe in Italy is drawing heat from animal lovers this week for having had the audacity to charge one of its canine guests.

According to The Local, a man stopped by a bar in Treviso's Signori square for a Campari spritz, and he brought his dog with him. The dog was welcome and even had some nice water, because the weather was hot. When the man received his bill, however, he was stunned to see that he had been charged .30 euros, or 33 cents, for "dog water."

The outraged dog owner posted a photo of the bill to Twitter, where the Internet responded in righteous indignation. One animal-loving site called the charge "scandalous," and most people seemed pretty perturbed that the bar had not just given the dog some water for free.

The bar stands by its decision, however, and says the .30 euro fee was not for the water, but was a "service charge" that included the cost of the paper cup the water was served in.