Mini-Rant - Service Dog Issue

[yoopermom]

I have an acquaintance who has a service dog who helps her w/anxiety/
panic type issues. Obviously, she doesn't wish to share this with strangers. What she did was have a business card made up that has a few generic sentences about service dogs on it, and a few informative websites. It isn't meant to be "proof", more "educational". Kind of like me with my ECV at WDW, she's had to grow a tough skin to put up with some judgemental people.

Hugs to you and your s.d.!
Terri

 

[lillygator]

Would you mind sharing the breed and the medical assistance he/she can provide?

I just simply don't know what all services a service animal can provide.

would love to know this as well.

 

[SaraJayne]

Thank you all for your understanding (and often funny posts).

I just want to clarify - I never mind if someone asks me about the dog. This lady was being mean and confrontational - that is why I was upset. Most often, we are approached by children who want to "look at/pet the doggy" - sometimes, I am able to allow her to spend time with them and other times, I am not - it depends on the circumstance. Sometimes I hear their parents tell them "no, she is a working dog and we cannot pet her

We have often provided education - and don't mind doing it but not to someone who is being an idiot. She did not approach us like she genuinely wanted to know anything, just that she wanted us to know by her tone and body language that WE did NOT belong there while she was shopping...

Service dogs are not required to be tagged and wear vests - it makes it easier for those of us that have the dogs to put the ID's on her/him (and easier for store workers too so they are not stressing) . In our case, her vest has a badge that says " Working Dog. Do Not Pet" and she also wears an ID tag, noting that she is a service dog with full access. When I travel, I carry medical documentation so that if it is ever required, I have that too but I don't carry it with me every day, just like I don't carry my passport.

There are people who will abuse the term or use of dogs - but that is no different than someone who abuses any other system - ie: store return policies, using handicapped parking spots when they are not legally allowed to, misleading CM's at Disney by telling them a restaurant reservation was made when it wasn't just so they can get their table NOW , the infamous refillable mugs, etc - all of which we have all seen happen. I really just try to worry about getting my own life right and doing the best I can - I have enough to handle without taking on everyone else's issues. We all need to decide what we need to do in order to be able to sleep at night and feel good about our contribution in this life.

There are many people that simply do not like animals - and I really do get that - but I guess like so much else in this world, we need to accept that not everyone is the same. And to the poster who noted that many dogs are cleaner than some of the people in the stores - I will agree. We were in a restaurant once and saw an either homeless or near-homeless man at the next booth - he ordered only water and promptly used it to wash his hands, arms, face and neck & then ordered another glass of it. After that, he left. Miss Service Dog spent her time laying on the floor at our feet. Things happen all the time -sometimes, you can only shake your head and move on.

I think that part of the issue is that some people have the image in their minds that a service dog is a dog that would accompany someone in a wheelchair or someone who has a seeing-eye dog - that is not the case with many service animals. I have even heard of some people who have service horses (the small ones) although I have not personally seen one of them.
What it comes down to is that someone who requires the use of a service dog or requires one in order to be able to complete normal every day tasks of living, does not necessarily display a physical disability that is readily apparent. I think I am "preaching to the choir" here as they say -

I was just bothered by it this morning - we are so seldom treated in a mean way. (and for the record, I in no way fault the manager for coming over to me. He was kind and immediate in his response. What I THINK happened was that that same woman was the one who approached him in the first place and in the interest of customer service, he did what was expected to him). We often have employees who "casually" walk by to glance at her vest/tags & then keep going - and I don't mind that at all.

People who do use service animals legitimately are aware that, for example, when they go into a restaurant, the dogs are not permitted to eat from the table and use the dishes, etc. My dog is not even allowed to eat her own food in restaurants - she is working and will eat when we get home.

Thanks for reading my post. Maybe someone will read it and want to learn more about the use of service dogs !!

Take care and have a great evening.

I noticed you still haven't mentioned what breed your dog is and what "service" she provides to you.

When we see a true service dog (ie one that is wearing a vest and/or sign) I will point it out to my kids, but tell them the dog is working and we are not allowed to disturb it from it's job.

As has already been pointed out, I can understand the lady's frustration, since so many people claim their dogs are "service animals", when they are really just a way for people to carry around little snookums and not leave the "poor wittle darlings" at home alone.

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I'm very sorry op, unfortunately it doesn't surprise me.

 

[Chelley00]

She said "exactly what can she do????" - : ...

I'm a snot, so I would have said something like "Chew your leg off".

 

[chloelovesdisney]

I noticed you still haven't mentioned what breed your dog is and what "service" she provides to you.

When we see a true service dog (ie one that is wearing a vest and/or sign) I will point it out to my kids, but tell them the dog is working and we are not allowed to disturb it from it's job.

As has already been pointed out, I can understand the lady's frustration, since so many people claim their dogs are "service animals", when they are really just a way for people to carry around little snookums and not leave the "poor wittle darlings" at home alone.

The lady had no reason to be frustrated, she should have been minding her own business. It's only up to the store's employees to be concerned about whether or not it is a service animal. They questioned her and were satisfied by her answer obviously. I've yet to meet even one person anywhere that appears to be falsely claiming their dog is a service dog to bring them in places they don't belong. It seems like it's an epidemic here on the disboards and in real life I've seen it zero times.

 

[clh2]

I am going to take this a little off-topic. In the book "My Sister's Keeper" one of the attorney's had a service dog...and throughout the book, whenever someone asked if he was blind - he alsways had a snappy comeback. The reality was - tthe dog was for epileptic seizures. The reasons he gave totally cracked me up. I.e. one reason he gave was I'm a recovering alcoholic, and the dog gets between me and the beer. Another one - "This is a service dog". " You are not blind." " I have an irregular heartbeat, and this dog is CPR certified." There were many more.

While the book was sad - this particular topic was very humorous.

Maybe you just need to come up with a prepared statement that is also hilarious!

 

[wdwmom2]

I am going to take this a little off-topic. In the book "My Sister's Keeper" one of the attorney's had a service dog...and throughout the book, whenever someone asked if he was blind - he alsways had a snappy comeback. The reality was - tthe dog was for epileptic seizures. The reasons he gave totally cracked me up. I.e. one reason he gave was I'm a recovering alcoholic, and the dog gets between me and the beer. Another one - "This is a service dog". " You are not blind." " I have an irregular heartbeat, and this dog is CPR certified." There were many more.

While the book was sad - this particular topic was very humorous.

Maybe you just need to come up with a prepared statement that is also hilarious!

Just saw that movie about a month ago. It wasn't until near the end of the movie that you actually realized that he was a true service dog. What a great movie. A tear jerker actually.

 

[momrek06]

I though that was the end of it - until I walked down the next isle - a woman came down the isle from the other end - moving very quickly. She looked irked and came up to us. She said "exactly what can she do????"
She huffed at me, and said " I HARDLY think so. I had that breed of dog before and she could not do anything"

STST, what is the breed of your service dog?


And to the poster that mentioned a "service cat" ... my DS has a cat ... all Kitty does is sleep, eat and sit in the window watching the birds outside in the trees ... I don't think Kitty would be any service to anyone ...

 

[doxdogy]

ALL service dogs I have seen in the stores have had a vest of some type identifying them as a service dogs, the only ones are guide dogs and it is quite obvious that they are guide dogs.

Thank you all for your understanding (and often funny posts).

I just want to clarify - I never mind if someone asks me about the dog. This lady was being mean and confrontational - that is why I was upset. Most often, we are approached by children who want to "look at/pet the doggy" - sometimes, I am able to allow her to spend time with them and other times, I am not - it depends on the circumstance. Sometimes I hear their parents tell them "no, she is a working dog and we cannot pet her

We have often provided education - and don't mind doing it but not to someone who is being an idiot. She did not approach us like she genuinely wanted to know anything, just that she wanted us to know by her tone and body language that WE did NOT belong there while she was shopping...

Service dogs are not required to be tagged and wear vests - it makes it easier for those of us that have the dogs to put the ID's on her/him (and easier for store workers too so they are not stressing) . In our case, her vest has a badge that says " Working Dog. Do Not Pet" and she also wears an ID tag, noting that she is a service dog with full access. When I travel, I carry medical documentation so that if it is ever required, I have that too but I don't carry it with me every day, just like I don't carry my passport.

There are people who will abuse the term or use of dogs - but that is no different than someone who abuses any other system - ie: store return policies, using handicapped parking spots when they are not legally allowed to, misleading CM's at Disney by telling them a restaurant reservation was made when it wasn't just so they can get their table NOW , the infamous refillable mugs, etc - all of which we have all seen happen. I really just try to worry about getting my own life right and doing the best I can - I have enough to handle without taking on everyone else's issues. We all need to decide what we need to do in order to be able to sleep at night and feel good about our contribution in this life.

There are many people that simply do not like animals - and I really do get that - but I guess like so much else in this world, we need to accept that not everyone is the same. And to the poster who noted that many dogs are cleaner than some of the people in the stores - I will agree. We were in a restaurant once and saw an either homeless or near-homeless man at the next booth - he ordered only water and promptly used it to wash his hands, arms, face and neck & then ordered another glass of it. After that, he left. Miss Service Dog spent her time laying on the floor at our feet. Things happen all the time -sometimes, you can only shake your head and move on.

I think that part of the issue is that some people have the image in their minds that a service dog is a dog that would accompany someone in a wheelchair or someone who has a seeing-eye dog - that is not the case with many service animals. I have even heard of some people who have service horses (the small ones) although I have not personally seen one of them.
What it comes down to is that someone who requires the use of a service dog or requires one in order to be able to complete normal every day tasks of living, does not necessarily display a physical disability that is readily apparent. I think I am "preaching to the choir" here as they say -

I was just bothered by it this morning - we are so seldom treated in a mean way. (and for the record, I in no way fault the manager for coming over to me. He was kind and immediate in his response. What I THINK happened was that that same woman was the one who approached him in the first place and in the interest of customer service, he did what was expected to him). We often have employees who "casually" walk by to glance at her vest/tags & then keep going - and I don't mind that at all.

People who do use service animals legitimately are aware that, for example, when they go into a restaurant, the dogs are not permitted to eat from the table and use the dishes, etc. My dog is not even allowed to eat her own food in restaurants - she is working and will eat when we get home.

Thanks for reading my post. Maybe someone will read it and want to learn more about the use of service dogs !!

Take care and have a great evening.

 

[dzorn]

STST, what is the breed of your service dog?


And to the poster that mentioned a "service cat" ... my DS has a cat ... all Kitty does is sleep, eat and sit in the window watching the birds outside in the trees ... I don't think Kitty would be any service to anyone ...

Not true I am sure it is very qualified lap warmer.

Denise in MI

 

[momrek06]

Not true I am sure it is very qualified lap warmer.

Denise in MI

BUT YOU ARE SO RIGHT ABOUT THAT!!!!

 

[SaraJayne]

The lady had no reason to be frustrated, she should have been minding her own business. It's only up to the store's employees to be concerned about whether or not it is a service animal. They questioned her and were satisfied by her answer obviously. I've yet to meet even one person anywhere that appears to be falsely claiming their dog is a service dog to bring them in places they don't belong. It seems like it's an epidemic here on the disboards and in real life I've seen it zero times.

I'm guessing you've never been to Disney World.

 

[sparklynails23]

I have an acquaintance who has a service dog who helps her w/anxiety/
panic type issues. Obviously, she doesn't wish to share this with strangers. What she did was have a business card made up that has a few generic sentences about service dogs on it, and a few informative websites. It isn't meant to be "proof", more "educational". Kind of like me with my ECV at WDW, she's had to grow a tough skin to put up with some judgemental people.

Hugs to you and your s.d.!
Terri

IMO, that's an abuse of the system. Lots of people like to have their pets around and feel comforted by their presence, but "my dog makes me feel comfy when out in public" is not a legitimate medical issue. It's people like your friend who are ruining it for people with disabilities who NEED service animals in public places, like blind people and those with seizure disorders.

 

[Planogirl]

What in the world does a service cat do?

 

[brittsmum1998]

As someone w/ horrible allergies to dogs AND cats, I'm subscribing because I'm curious as to what kind of dog this is also.

 

[Magic Mom]

Hi, all!

I just wanted to post about my recent experience at Publix (this morning actually)

We travel with a service dog. She is tagged and wears a vest so that everyone can see that she is NOT a pet. I purposely ensure that she carries more identification than is required by law.

This is the first time in months that anyone has caused an issue with her. The manager came over as I was in the produce isle and said " Ma'am, I am sorry but dogs are not allowed in our store". I said "are you certain that this is your policy? She is a service dog" - He came around in front of me, saw her credentials and immediately apologized. (She is a smaller dog, so it is not like she is a lab or anything so he had not immediately seen her tags and vest) We have been shopping in this store since we moved here - about 3 months.

I though that was the end of it - until I walked down the next isle - a woman came down the isle from the other end - moving very quickly. She looked irked and came up to us. She said "exactly what can she do????" - : Although businesses are allowed to ask what service she provides - and we gladly tell them - we are not accustomed to the general public being entitled to know. I simply said she is a medical assistance dog.
She huffed at me, and said " I HARDLY think so. I had that breed of dog before and she could not do anything"

I should have thought more quickly and had a witty comeback but we simply walked away. It just upsets me when people do not take the time to educate themselves on service dogs but would prefer instead to angrily confront store patrons. It was not like the dog peed on the lady's steak or drooled on her foot or something...

Wow, That's crazy. What service does your dog provide?

 

[lillygator]

here's hoping we find out the breed and the service......

 

[ilovepcot]

Hope it's a doxen.

 

[CharityLynn]

I found this article about a service cat named Wendy

http://www.neatorama.com/2008/01/19/wendy-the-service-cat/

And here's another one

http://www.infinitecat.com/cat-tales/service-cat.html