People can get really stupid when they encounter a service dog team. Some of this falls under the category of “People really do that?”, and I promise you, they do. Some of it may not seem so obvious to someone who isn’t a service dog handler. For the purposes of this blog, I am referring to legitimate teams.
1) Do Not Feed My Dog. Seriously, people will try to do this. I know he’s cute. I know you think he deserves a treat, but what you don’t know is if the dog is on a special diet. The dog may have food allergies or another medical condition that requires a specialized diet. Even if that’s not the case, he doesn’t eat while working.
2) Don’t Follow Me Yelling About My SD Being Abused: I assure you, 99.9% of all service dogs are pampered and loved. They also LOVE their jobs. They don’t see “work” as the 4-lettered word many people do. If a service dog doesn’t want to work, they don’t last long and are washed out or retired pretty quickly. My service dog gets excited and jumps around when he sees his harness come out.
3) Do Not Pet My Dog Without Permission: Each handler has their own “rule” when it comes to allowing or not allowing people to pet their dogs. For some people, it depends on the way the dog will respond. For other people, it depends on how they will react to the attention. Do not assume because you see one person petting the dog, that it means you can, too. For example, I’m pretty strict on not allowing petting, but I have a couple of exceptions. One is if the person is a child who is afraid of my service dog, and allowing them to pet him will calm the child. The other is if we run into a friend we see rarely. Otherwise, I explain that he is working and can not socialize on the job.
4) Do Not Bark At My Dog: No, really, people do this. Grown people do this. It makes you look like an idiot, so just don’t.
5) Do Not Ask What My Disability Is: My disability is my private medical information. You don’t want me asking how your last mental health evaluation (or prostate exam, or GYN exam) went. My medical information is private. On the same note, don’t ask what my dog is trained to do EXACTLY. I can’t answer that without revealing my medical information.
6) Do Not Assume I Can Not Hear/See You: We are not all deaf or blind. Many of us have other disabilities that allow us to hear and see you. So, when you encourage your child to pet my dog, I will (and I have) turn around and call you out for it.
7) Try To Resist Curiosity: I know you are curious. I know that we may be the only service dog team you have ever run into. But realize that I just want to get into and out of the store and take care of my business just like everyone else. You also aren’t the only one who is curious. I avoid Wal Mart like the plague. Why? Because I can’t go five feet without someone stopping me. I don’t want to be rude, but I’d rather it not take an hour to get a gallon of mile. Also realize that a lot of us are chronically ill, and going out takes a lot more energy, and is more difficult for us than it is for you.
8) Do Not Take Pictures Without Asking: We aren’t celebrities. We are normal people, and snapping pictures without asking is creepy. Oh, and yes, we see you do it. Different handlers have different rules for allowing pictures.
9) Do Not Compare Us To Other Handlers: This was said to me once, “Last week at Disney, someone with a service dog let us pet, so you have to do, too.” Uhm…No I don’t.
10) Do Not Call More Attention to my Dog: Just us being out brings attention. We don’t need any help in that department. Kids, I understand, but an adult yelling over and over: “LOOK! Its a DOG!” is likely to get the response, “LOOK! It’s a person!”
11) Do Not Attempt to Take my Dog’s Leash From Me: No, really. This has happened. Just don’t. You’ll likely evoke a violent response.
12) Treat the Dog like he’s/she’s a Wheelchair: If you wouldn’t do it do a wheelchair, don’t do it to me/my dog.
13) Do NOT Remove the Dog from the Handler: This is especially true if the handler is down. The dog has a job to do, let them do it!
This part is going to be about annoying things said to handlers:
1) “Do you REALLY need him?” Uhm…yeah. I don’t like being the center of attention everywhere I go.
2) “When do you have to give him up?” When the handler has an invisible disability, it is often assumed that we are training the dog for someone else.
3) “He’s getting gray. He’s gonna die soon.” That one was said to me, and my response, “Like you?” (was an older man).
4) “You can have one them dogs if your blind. She’s NOT blind.”
5) “You just don’t bring a dog into a place that serves food.”
6) “How in the HELL did you get that THING in here?” Through the front door.
7) “Oh, it must be nice to just throw a vest on your pet and bring them with you everywhere just for sympathy. I should try that..” The response you get for this one will depend on the handler, but expect a lecture.
8) “How do I get a vest so I can take my dog everywhere?” 1) You get a disability. 2) You spend two years training a dog to do something that mitigates the disability, and training the dog to behave appropriately in public, or get on a waiting list, and wait two, or more, years for a program to train one for you.
9) “You don’t look disabled!” Responses will vary, but common ones are, “You don’t look stupid.” “What does ‘disabled’ look like?” “Thank you, the day I look as sick as I am will be a very bad day.”
10) “Does he/she bite?” I’ve come to learn that’s generally code for, “Can I pet?” Let me answer that one, no he/she doesn’t, but the handler might.
I know that a lot of our responses can make us come off as rude or bitchy, and we don’t intend to be, but we are only human. We are tired, busy, and over it. If you get one of the ruder responses, you can about guarantee you aren’t the first person to approach that day.
Thank you to all the handlers that helped me make this list.
azebralivingonspoons 