Question About Service Dogs

[Luv Bunnies]

I saw a situation with a service dog yesterday and I immediately knew someone here would be able to comment.

Our family went to see Bedtime Stories. The theater was filling up quickly and a women walked in with a service dog. She initially sat in one of the handicapped companion seats. A man who came in with her sat in the seat next to her and the dog was on the floor. Then she and the man moved to the front row. Instead of having the dog sit on the floor, they put the dog in a seat between them.

An usher came in and announced that the show was completely sold out and asked everyone to move down their row and fill in the extra seats. There were several people waiting to find empty seats and the usher started pointing them out as they became available.

The woman did not move her dog out of the seat. I was thinking a couple of things: I'm sure she didn't buy a ticket for the dog and was, therefore, taking a seat from someone who paid. What if the dog sheds and the next person to sit there has allergies?

I know that the woman is completely entitled to bring her dog into a theater, restaurant, grocery store, etc. But I don't understand why she put the dog in a seat and then didn't move it when the usher asked people to fill in the extra seats. By the way, the usher didn't ask her to move the dog but he was in the middle of the theather when he made his announcement and it was a little dark so he probably did even see a dog sitting in the front row.

Do you think this woman was justified in putting her dog in a seat in a theater? I'm just wondering what the protocol is on this kind of thing.

 

[Nalla]

Service dogs should sit on the floor. I honestly think movie seats are dangerous for them, if they shift their weight wrong a leg falls through the seat, they end up hurt.
Now, some movie theater floors are gross. Bringing a towel or blanket works better than putting a dog in a seat.
If the usher asks, then I def think she should've put the dog on the floor.

 

[mechurchlady]

Nala did bring up a good point. Service dogs are trained to lie quietly on the floor but what if the floor is filthy. I would move if possible but who plans on such things though. Nala is right that a theater seat is not safe for a dog as one wrong move and ouch. I was not there so I cannot judge the person as they may have had special circumstances. I will wait for Cari as she has good insight into this matter.

 

[LauraVV]

Nala did bring up a good point. Service dogs are trained to lie quietly on the floor but what if the floor is filthy. I would move if possible but who plans on such things though. Nala is right that a theater seat is not safe for a dog as one wrong move and ouch. I was not there so I cannot judge the person as they may have had special circumstances. I will wait for Cari as she has good insight into this matter.

If the floor is filthy they get a bath the next day. Service dogs should not be noticed by others. We've had up to five service dogs in a restaurant and the waiter did not know he was serving a table with dogs.

 

[dclfun]

I agree totally that SD's should not sit on a theater seat ( or bus or airline seat) nor are they entitled to. I have to say though, that I would not let my SD lay on a filthy floor. Some of us do not have the physical capabilities to bathe our own dogs- in fact for me if I could bathe my SD, I wouldn't need or qualify for a SD. Getting an immediate bath would not be an option. Filthy, to me, is defined by gum, unidentified liquids or ground in food that might get on my dog's fur. A little dirt though doesn't hurt. I've never found a theater that was too dirty for my SD to lay on the floor. If I did though I'd call a manager. I often bring a small blanket throw for my SD to lay on which she can then pick up and hand back to me-I used it once at WDW when it was freezing outside, although she'd have probably been fine.---Kathy