Toronto pet store uses hockey stick for socially distanced payments and it's so Canadian

Hockey sticks are, hands-down, the wieldiest piece of sports equipment to come out of Canada, and a Toronto pet store is putting them to good use during the lockdown.

For the past few months, customers of the Global Pet Foods location by High Park have been purchasing their kitty litter and dog treats in the most Canadian way.

A credit card terminal taped to a CCM hockey stick — the quintessential Canadian measurement of social distancing — has been the preferred method of payment at the store at 2100 Bloor St W. 

How our local pet food shop manages physically distanced purchases outside of their store during #COVID19 pandemic. My first time using a hockey stick in this country 🏒 😷 #Toronto #Canada #hockey pic.twitter.com/qwi6CGf4aH

— Sanja O-vić (@parallax_dreams) January 7, 2021

To top it off, it's attached using hockey tape, since "electrical tape doesn't stick as well."

According to Global Pet Foods' manager, Lisa, the store owner came up with this brilliant invention during the first lockdown when curbside pick-ups became the only way for customers to grab their pet necessities. 

The chain had yet to launch their online store at the time, she says. They've since launched online payments, but foot traffic means their hockey stick invention is still the most popular way to pay. 

Despite hockey being our national sport, there's a sizeable number of Toronto dwellers who've never played it, let alone used a hockey stick.

"All the customers love it, they laugh and they take pictures as well," she says. "It's all a smidgen of fun amidst the chaos to keep us safe and employed."