Pint-sized service dog has own Costco card

Napoleon lives up to his famous name. He has a chauffeur, a personalized license plate, his own fan club and fancy duds to wear when he's out in public.

But when it comes to shopping, he's as plebian as everyone else. He shops at Costco.

Napoleon, a dog about the size of a small purse, even has his own Costco membership card. He may be the chain's only canine member. He belongs to Doris Steussy who wheels him around Issaquah in a red wagon with the personalized license plate.

"His front end is a Chihuahua; we don't know what the back end is," Steussy said.

Napoleon's fan club loves the whole dog. Steussy often takes him to visit the Children's Garden School in Issaquah, owned by her daughter. The children enjoy the 10-plus-year-old pet so much they send him love letters and hand-drawn pictures. Taking him to the grocery elicits similar responses — fans stop to chat and admire him as Napoleon sits in his soft-sided carrying case perched in the electric-cart basket.

Napoleon is pulled in a little red wagon with a personalized license plate by Doris Steussy, who takes him everywhere. She usually dresses Napoleon in a red vest for their outings, with the words "Service Dog" on the back.

The Costco card was harder to come by than his many fans.

Steussy, a feisty 88-year-old who once spent more than a decade proving an investment banker had swindled her family's fortune, doesn't back down easily. One hot summer day her pooch was denied access to the Issaquah store. Steussy hurried through her brief shopping trip while Napoleon waited outside. At the check-out stand the clerk asked if there was anything else they could do for her.

Steussy asked for the manager.

After verifying that service dogs were allowed in the store, she explained that Napoleon, despite his less than 5-pound size, was her service dog. The manager complied with her request for a letter stating Napoleon was allowed in the store and then issued him a card on the spot.

It turns out Napoleon may be the only dog in the world with his own Costco card. John McKay, general manager of the Northwest Region for Costco, said the store doesn't usually issue service dogs membership cards.

"We give our managers some ability to bend the rules, and it seems like in this situation, it was appropriate," McKay said.

DEAN RUTZ / THE SEATTLE TIMES Doris Steussy can often be seen strolling the streets of Issaquah with her dog, Napoleon, trailing in his red Radio Flyer wagon.

A spokeswoman at the Delta Society, a Bellevue-based organization that is an advocate for service animals, said no certification is required for service dogs. Any dog individually trained to assist a person with a disability is a service dog, said Michelle Cobey, the society's resource support manager.

Steussy suffers from hearing loss and depends on the dog to alert her when someone comes to her door and to other noises when she's out and about. She usually dresses Napoleon in a red vest for their outings, with the words "Service Dog" on the back.

It's hard to quantify the other service he provides — the daily lift to the widow's spirits.

"Every old person should have a pet," she said. "Napoleon smiles back at me each morning when I wake up and look over the side of the bed at him."

Sherry Grindeland: 206-515-5633 or sgrindeland@seattletimes.com