Why don't people understand what a service dog is for?

michelle · 04-22-2004, 10:29 PM

My good friend Louise has been blind for several years, and gets around with the help of her guide dog, Piro. I always assumed that most people had the common sense to know that service dogs are essential for their owners' well being and should be allowed to go anywhere people do, but apparently people are way more ignorant than I thought. Louise was telling me today that she is sometimes asked to leave public places because of the dog, or because people have so-called 'allergies'. It's not fair that someone should be completely lost in the dark because someone else doesn't want to sneeze. She was even kicked out of a department store one time because the manager thought that the dog might scare children. Someone in her building recently complained about the dog too. What is so wrong with people that they have to make a big deal about a dog? Why can't they just mind their own business or realize how much of an asset dogs can be, especially service dogs?

GreatWhiteWolf · 04-23-2004, 07:44 AM

Allergies give me a break!

That was so stupid, people can just be stupid, idiots, and ignorant!!! Yes, service dogs should be allowed to go wherever their owner goes, people should realize this. And service dogs are taught not to harm anyone...hurting little kids...who does that guy think he is anyway!!

I hope it gets better for your friend! Can she pull out some kind of certificate saying she's allowed to bring her dog in the places? What kind of breed of dog does she have & what did the organization name him/her? I'm just wondering.

Christy · 04-23-2004, 07:55 AM

Does her dog wear one of those service dog vests? I know in the US its illegal for anyone to deny service animals into public places. What rude idiots those people are, id rather have my kids around someones service dog verses a regualr neighbors dog, you KNOW there better trained.

michelle · 04-23-2004, 08:34 AM

The dog is a black lab- burmese mountain mix. She wears a harness with a sign saying "I'm at work".

neuroleptical · 04-23-2004, 11:26 AM

How disgusting!!!

can't these selfish "allergy" people just take their medication & let the dog do his/her work?

Solarsis · 04-23-2004, 12:17 PM

I once had a conversation with a very nice lady who had a service dog and was travelling to Victoria, BC for a conference. She told me that when she was on the plane, she realized whoever booked her ticket for her did not request the front seat in the economy section where there is more room for a service dog to sit (apparently there is a rule saying they need to clear those seats for such circumstances). When the flight attendant noticed the problem, rather than clearing the appropriate seat for the lady, she asked her to get her FULLY GROWN LABRADOR under the seat in front of her

I was horrified by the story but the lady smiled and said she told the flight attendant she would stuff her dog under there ONLY if the attendant could manage to get her fat behind under the seat comfortably. The flight attendant asked someone in the front seats to move

Lixx · 04-23-2004, 07:07 PM

That's so awful!!! Too bad she couldn;t say "could you please ask the people allergic to my dog to leave, they bother me". She's just as much of a customer as anyone else.

clearjade · 04-25-2004, 08:09 PM

People need to get over themselves! If they are so allergic to dogs, then what are they doing out in public? Why don't they live out their entire lives in a hypoallergenic germ-free bubble then

It's like the lady who lives down the hall who SWEARS she's so allergic to dogs that even seeing Keesha & Ally from 10 feet away, she literally runs the other way. She tells me she can't ride the elevator with dogs or her throat will close up and she'll stop breathing, honestly, I think she's being a bit melodramatic

Dreama · 10-08-2005, 08:25 PM

I'm a guide dog guardian myself. Their is an area near where I live which is really good for asian food but really bad as far as my guide dog is concerned.

When anybody tries to throw me out of a shop I tend to blank them out. That is easy for me to do as I'm also profoundly deaf as well as partially sighted and people need to use this card to communicate to me with. They usually give up in the end but it must be really stressful for Jilli. Bruce my last dog hated that area. He kept trying to guide me back to the nearest bus stop.

sugargliderns · 10-08-2005, 08:57 PM

I thought all guide dogs were allowed anywhere. I thought they were considered part of thier human?