Another Service Dog?
 

I was at Walgreen's this afternoon when a man walked in with a small dog. The dog had a red leash with "Service Animal" written on it in big white letters. It also had on a vest with the same announcement. As he walked up and down the aisles, he chatted with people who petted the dog. So, what legitimate service was this animal providing?

None of our business.

Service dogs are not to be petted. They are working. Ergo, not a service dog.

I am afraid abuse of the service dog will soon be as prevalent as the too many who have handicap parking permits and golf cart permits on and off the course.

Here again it is not a very big number of those who have discovered how easy it is to get and hence abuse these priviledges.

It is not fair to the honest, needy and legitimate 98+%.

Absolutely! Highly suspicious---the owner would be the first to admonish someone for trying to pet a true service dog. But until the management of any establishment is willing to challenge these people, you'll see more and more fraud. I always hate to involve government, but perhaps it is time to make a law that a service animal requires a permit that is certified by a veterinarian. And if it is an "emotional support animal", by both a psychiatrist and a vet. I'm willing to bet these sightings would go down 85%

[QUOTE=Buckeyephan;1137644]I was at Walgreen's this afternoon when a man walked in with a small dog. The dog had a red leash with "Service Animal" written on it in big white letters. It also had on a vest with the same announcement. As he walked up and down the aisles, he chatted with people who petted the dog. So, what legitimate service was this animal providing?[/QUOTE]

Why didn't you ask the man? The service it was providing was getting you upset about it - "OMG, there is a person with a "service" dog, I'm going to start another thread about it". What is the big freaking deal with "SOME" people against people and their dogs? Huh? Believe me, I'd rather see a person come into a business with their dog rather than some of the skanky people that come in; the pets are usually a lot cleaner. Everytime, EVERYTIME I've been in a business and a person comes in with a dog (and in 62 years, it's been many times), the dogs never have cried incessantly, ran all over the place, thrown tantrums, thrown food, in other words, they have behaved better than humans.

Service Dog?

The barrels we see around the St. Bernard's necks in paintings and cartoons is the invention of a kid named Edwin Landseer. In 1820, Landseer, a 17-year-old painter from England, produced a work titled Alpine Mastiffs Reanimating a Distressed Traveler. The painting portrays two Saint Bernards standing over a fallen traveler, one dog barking in alarm, the other attempting to revive the traveler by licking his hand. The dog doing the licking has a barrel strapped around its neck, which Landseer claimed contains brandy.

Despite the fact that brandy wouldn't be something you'd want if you were trapped in a blizzard — alcohol causes blood vessels to dilate, resulting in blood rushing to your skin and your body temperature decreasing rapidly — and that the dogs never carried such barrels, the collar keg stuck in the public's imagination and the image has endured.

service dog, one that runs out on the driveway and picks up your news paper??

Not all service animals need to go unpetted. Nobody knows if the dog in question smells oncoming blood sugar issues. Service animals are certified and registered, etc., but not by vets, why by vets?
Support animals do need official therapist or md letters.
The question is, do we need to spend a brazillion dollars on a national crackdown?
If there were a budget, I would spend it on a national program for mental disorders.

Pardon my tone. Still rankled over the ridiculous msnbc debacle.

It would be interesting to know what would happen if the police were called to verify. I suspect that if the word gets around that citizens that object have a way to have the dog qualified we may see the abuse decline. Wait, abusing systems is what we and the world does these days......so sorry. :)

We really don't get to pick and choose what we had rather see...

"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing".

Edmund Burke

Skanky...now there is a real life word.
I recently visited the city I left to come here, and bumbled into a bad neighborhood, skanks all over the sidewalk.

Give thanks...We live here. Are you safe in Walgreens?

Kitty is right. Basically, what harm did the little leashed dog do to you or anyone else at Walgreens? Is it worth any money to make laws to keep the very tiny percentage of dogs from being called "service animals" and it really might have been one for all we know.

Would you rather have the fake service dog being well behaved or a 3 year old child out of control at the candy display unwrapping candy bars and his mommy doing nothing?

Yep, worthless debate and waste of my time. Glad I had some Johnny Walker Black handy.

Some service dogs are psychological aids to vets with PTSD...no idea if this one was, but it's quite easy for a person who claims anxiety issues to get their dog certified as a service dog.

When they allow them into a restaurant I get my check/pay up and leave. No one knows how clean that dog is. Might have just peed all over itself.

Pass...

A dog in a store, what could be worse than that?

A 3 year old tearing up the place completely out of control.

Or maybe some skanky person barely human. Or was it shanky?

And what if none of this bothers you?

Than evil will triumph all over you.

Am i getting this right?

Fred,
Changed my mind on passing.
This is a website for a nearby trainer with a grant from the vets admin.
If you think lightly of this bit about claiming anxiety..Read up.

And you are right, who knows! And who is rude enough to challenge?
Guardian Angels pairing & training medical service dogs

Yes, misuses happen...but how big a deal is that?

Excellent selection

Well f I got to wear shoes and shirt in stores so should the dogs:popcorn::icon_hungry::yuck:

If a dog doesn't pee in it's house it probably won't do so in a store. When a dog is housebroken they potty outside - not on merchandise.

I usually don't say much about this topic, but I must.
Are there people that take advantage of saying service dog, I'm sure.
Do some use a dog and say emotional support or comfort dog that may not need them, I'm sure.
With that being said, I have a friend that has a small dog for emotional support. He has some issues that make it difficult for him to go out by himself. He doesn't converse well with people and gets very nervous about it. When he has his little dog, he is much calmer. Yes he goes to a few restaurants & sits on the patio with his little guy & has a bite to eat. Yes, he has taken the dog in a store.
Without the dog, he would literally spend most of his time in his house. What a shame that someone would begrudge him of that one comfort in his life.
He doesn't bother anyone. He's a very nice guy and if he needs that dog to get out into the world a little, God bless him.
Please stop trying to analyze people's needs by looking at them, questioning what they need the dog for and making them feel less of a person than they are.
Can't we all get along and give people the benefit of the doubt, especially when we have no clue !!
Okay, rant over.
I hope everyone has an awesome day and just enjoy the lives that we have.

Quite an emotional plea for tolerance of "cheating". Only Seeing Eye and Service Dogs should be allowed in stores or shops, except perhaps pet stores which already smell.

I agree, there are people who needs service dogs, and their need may not be evident by looking at them. The blind person with a white tipped cane and a seeing eye dog is obvious (except on Halloween). The person with an anxiety disorder and an emotional support dog is not. However, there seems to be an "explosion" in the number of these animals all over the place. This means there is either an epidemic of disabilities requiring a service animal, or there is a lot of fraud.

The situation is similar to SSDI. In 1992, there were about 3 million on disability, now there are about 11 million---did American workplaces become unsafe places in the last 20 years, is there an epidemic of disabling diseases in the under 65 crowd, or are there about 8 million frauds out there?

The sad part is this: As the number of frauds increases and dwarfs those that truly are in need, people will eye all service animals with derision---you can see by this thread it has already started

Oh, no--again I can't agree---see above. Was hoping, but alas:cryin2:

Ya gotta be wrong sometime.

First of all You don't have the right to question a person who has a service dog with him or her. Who do you think you are trying to challenge a handicap person.
If the dog has a service dog collar or a service ID attached to its collar. That is it! By LAW what you are doing is fighting with a handicap person. Guess who actually will have problems with the law.
You have not one clue why of how the dog was trained or what the service is nor is it even your business. Privacy laws. You should read laws first then talk. Before you make a fool of yourself.

They can be touched if the owner says ok. As for the store they can ask to see official Id. which is carried by the owner. If the store challenges and it is never done because if they are wrong it is a criminal offense to abuse handicap people the store will get a huge fine in the thousands of dollars plus have to deal with many handicap groups that follow treatment of handicap people and service dogs.

Well who knew this topic would heat up so?

Here is the best site I can find with info on legitimate registration...
On the other hand, the google hit says "take your dog anywhere"..
Anyone can buy vests, decals, etc. without papers fm diagnosticians.

It is a problem that needs working out..just not a priority in these days of federal spending.

https://www.officialservicedogregist...Fdc9gQodKJMOGQ

Your right, you should read the law before making a fool of yourself

from ADA.gov:

3. Q: How can I tell if an animal is really a service animal and not just a pet?



A: Some, but not all, service animals wear special collars and harnesses. Some, but not all, are licensed or certified and have identification papers. If you are not certain that an animal is a service animal, you may ask the person who has the animal if it is a service animal required because of a disability. However, an individual who is going to a restaurant or theater is not likely to be carrying documentation of his or her medical condition or disability. Therefore, such documentation generally may not be required as a condition for providing service to an individual accompanied by a service animal. Although a number of states have programs to certify service animals, you may not insist on proof of state certification before permitting the service animal to accompany the person with a disability.

There is no law against asking a question (at least not yet). Asking a question is NOT fighting with someone. And you are only asking the question of a handicapped person if they are indeed handicapped.

Don't get me wrong, I favor service animals that help those with a disability. I like dogs, own 2, and couldn't care less if someone, disabled or not, has a dog with them. But the question at hand was regarding people who fraudulently claim they have a service animal with them. I don't think your response hit the mark, given the facts from the ADA

Amen...I couldn't agree more. I have yet to be bothered by animal in a public. They make people feel good and smile. I look forward to taking my pet everywhere. It socials her and teaches her how to behave in public.🐶💕🐶💕

I think it's a Long Island thing----our pets are a form of escapism from the reality of the daily rat race---unless you live in Southhampton:1rotfl:

Good for you 😊 Take her everywhere that you can legally take her and you should have no problems.

I've never had an issue with a dog in the public either. Only one time, I had a problem with the owner of a pup who took the dog into Golden Coral (claiming a service dog), and constantly threw food under the table for the obese dog. This was absolutely not a service dog as it was hyper, not behaving. The management was afraid to do much except watch....I had words with her though. Too bad the few try to ruin it for the legitimate.

:agree:

Kind of makes sense---bring an obese dog to an all you can eat buffet--saves on dog food as well. What was your estimate of the OWNER'S weight?????

I'm just thankful I don't need one.

That is funny, of course we do. Anyone with a sense of humor so far out...

I don't judge humans on weight.

The dog was being abused by feeding it human food. She was throwing fried chicken on the floor for the dog.

Bringing any dog, other than a legitimate Seeing Eye or Service Dog to an all you can eat Buffet, or any other Restaurant is in and of itself rather disgusting. Fat owners tend to waste more food at buffets than skinny ones. Only difference is that they don't usually eat it off the floor. Sorry, don't mean to offend in case you are excessively overweight.

I certainly don't judge people that way either. I was trying to play off the age old concept that dogs and their owners start to look alike. Oh, well, epic fail---sorry