In summary...if you are too damned crazy...

[Spiky Bugger]

...to leave the house without your pet and you dress it up like a service animal and take it with you everywhere, I think you should just stay the fuck at home until the meds you obviously need and should acquire asap, arrive and kick in.

That's all.

 

[JackieOnLine]

I suspect this is about someone specific...*looking wise*

 

[Spiky Bugger]

I suspect this is about someone specific...*looking wise*

The goofy woman who was carrying her darling, cute, teensy, weensy, "service animal" dog around the grocery store's grand opening. Those people make it tough on folks who really need service animals.

When our daughter had a somewhat mind-numbing job working for an airline, one of the little pleasures she got from her job was telling people who wanted to bring their "service ferrets" on the flight that the airline was not a US-based carrier and did not allow service animals unless documentation was provided by the passenger's doctor AND the airline's medical department agreed.

 

[ProteinSnob]

I've got to agree with you here. http://www.ebay.com/itm/CUSTOM-MADE...1411208336?pt=Dog_Collars&hash=item2a3cf35c90

They have the vests on ebay, too. We have the same type of people running around our suburbs. The seizure-detecting dogs I guess I understand, but doesn't everyone need their dog for "emotional support"? It seems wrong to force people and businesses to deal with animals that aren't absolutely essential, and I do think that the line will have to be drawn somewhere.

 

[Whit]

I do not dress my dog up but I do like to take him SOME places with me. Only where they allow dogs. But I mostly leave him home to keep my big dog company. He is not a service dog. I will admit to taking him into Trader Joes. He was in a tote bag in the basket. I was so stressed I would get in trouble I have not done it again.

 

[Terri]

I do not dress my dog up but I do like to take him SOME places with me. Only where they allow dogs. But I mostly leave him home to keep my big dog company. He is not a service dog. I will admit to taking him into Trader Joes. He was in a tote bag in the basket. I was so stressed I would get in trouble I have not done it again.

That's funny.

 

[Whit]

That's funny.

I fully admit to being a bit nutty!

 

[Larra]

I recently saw an older woman at the grocery store, in a wheelchair, clutching her little dog to her bosom as someone wheeled her around. Frankly, she looked like she needed that dog and maybe a few more for emotional reasons. Was it an officially authorized service dog? I have no way of knowing, nor do I care. The dog was well behaved and totally under her control (never could have escaped the near death grip she had on it). More and more people are coming home from various wars with PTSD. Some of them benefit enormously from having service dogs. Therapy and medications of course play important roles, but meanwhile (perhaps forever for some people) a service dog can help these people to be functional members of our society. They deserve no less.
Confining the emotionally disturbed or outright mentally ill to their homes, or worse yet to institutions, has thankfully been abandoned except for the worst cases or the criminally insane. Same for people with physical disabilities. Some people find the presence and appearance of some disabled people disturbing. Sometimes mentally ill people can be annoying. But as long as they aren't hurting anyone they, and occasionally their dogs, have as much right to be among us as anyone else.
Now a "service ferret" - uh, no.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

I recently saw an older woman at the grocery store, in a wheelchair, clutching her little dog to her bosom as someone wheeled her around. Frankly, she looked like she needed that dog and maybe a few more for emotional reasons. Was it an officially authorized service dog? I have no way of knowing, nor do I care. The dog was well behaved and totally under her control (never could have escaped the near death grip she had on it). More and more people are coming home from various wars with PTSD. Some of them benefit enormously from having service dogs. Therapy and medications of course play important roles, but meanwhile (perhaps forever for some people) a service dog can help these people to be functional members of our society. They deserve no less.
Confining the emotionally disturbed or outright mentally ill to their homes, or worse yet to institutions, has thankfully been abandoned except for the worst cases or the criminally insane. Same for people with physical disabilities. Some people find the presence and appearance of some disabled people disturbing. Sometimes mentally ill people can be annoying. But as long as they aren't hurting anyone they, and occasionally their dogs, have as much right to be among us as anyone else.
Now a "service ferret" - uh, no.

LOL

I agree, in theory. But there are too many "users" out there claiming service animals and, like that little girl asked or jot asked to leave KFC, there are some people who have dog-encounter PTSD. When my sister was just little, she had to undergo that horrid 10-day abdominal injection series to prevent rabies after a dogbite. It was a traumatic time for the whole family. People dealing with that should not have to encounter random pretend service animals.

 

[Larra]

And Spiky, I also agree with you in theory. A properly trained service dog will not bite people or even approach people. They receive months of training and socialization, and those that don't pass muster are not given to people who need them, but rather placed as pets instead. There are certainly areas where the needs of someone with a service dog come into conflict with the needs of people to avoid dogs, such as on an airplane, where the other travelers might be allergic, or frightened of dogs, or possibly for other reasons. There is no perfect solution.
My own experience with service animals, certified or otherwise, has been positive. Of course, this is coming from someone who loves dogs and isn't allergic. If you see someone not properly in control of their service dog, chances are it isn't really a service dog. As far as the KFC incident, or more likely non-incident, goes, to me that's a very different issue, where an adult decided to take advantage of a child's misfortune and made what we now know to be dishonest claims about some innocent fast food employees. I don't see what that has to do with real or pseudo-service dogs, and in fact also wonder how and why this little girl ended up being bitten by 3 of the grandparents' 10 pit bulls. Unintentional to be sure, but who the hell exposes a 3 year old to that kind of risk? And then the KFC follow-up by the same people...and we've heard nothing about the child's parents, only grandparents seem to be involved with her care. There is more to the story, none of it pretty I suspect, but it has nothing to do with service animals.

 

[Larra]

OK, that makes sense. I didn't think of that interpretation. My bad. And I hope this little girl gets all the treatment she needs, not just for the physical wounds and scars, but also for the emotional damage. The reality, though, is that she will live her life in a country where dogs are present in every city, every neighborhood, every park, many homes, etc etc, so I hope she also gets help in learning that not all dogs are to be feared, and that in the right circumstances they can add immeasurably to our lives. It's possible that she will always be afraid of dogs, and understandable if she is, but that's a shame (along with all the other elements of her life that are a shame also)

 

[Spiky Bugger]

OK, that makes sense. I didn't think of that interpretation. My bad. And I hope this little girl gets all the treatment she needs, not just for the physical wounds and scars, but also for the emotional damage. The reality, though, is that she will live her life in a country where dogs are present in every city, every neighborhood, every park, many homes, etc etc, so I hope she also gets help in learning that not all dogs are to be feared, and that in the right circumstances they can add immeasurably to our lives. It's possible that she will always be afraid of dogs, and understandable if she is, but that's a shame (along with all the other elements of her life that are a shame also)

Yeah...I meant it as a comment on someone whose PTSD could be triggered by the faux service animals. But probably not by ferrets...lol

 

[Munchkin]

I think I need a Service Tarantula but I can't seem to find a vest that fits.

In Vegas I see 'Service Animals' everywhere. I have no issue with the legitimate ones but even people I know have bought the vests just so they can take their little creatures everywhere they go. I saw a service pig in the grocery store the other night. OK, it's Vegas and it's hot. You can't leave your animal in the car. So you just buy a vest and take him with you.

Sigh, whatever works. At least most of them are well behaved. I love animals and a feel sorry for the ones who spend their days in casinos!

 

[Spiky Bugger]

?..OK, it's Vegas and it's hot. You can't leave your animal in the car...

Or...pardon my harping on the obvious...LEAVE THEM HOME!!

I think Caesar, the dog guy, has made a fortune trying to show people how to treat animals like animals.

I was just wondering how lucky WE'D feel if some loving mama bear decided to treat us like her babies and drag us around doing bear things 24/7...just so she would have companionship.