Service dog not allowed in Wal mart
- Thread starter adoptashelterpettoday
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The problem is (and I know there are 2 sides to every story) that she was not asked the purpose of the dog. Just because it was a pit bull and "pit bulls are dangerous" she was asked to leave. Which is stupid because although Pits arent used as often as Golden Retrievers as service dogs, they can still be trained to be service dogs. There was a post on here not too long ago of a girl who met a pittie service dog at an airport who was a seizure alert dog (not sure if that is the correct term)
This girl was told that "there are kids around" and that her dog was viscious because of it's breed, which everyone with 1/2 a brain knows isnt true. My pittie foster went to a home with a 7 year old boy and an 11 month old girl and he is just fine with them, as are the thousands of other pit bulls who are great family dogs.
I dont know this lady or her dog or what the dog is trained to do, or if the dog is in training but what if this dog had been a seizure alert dog and this girl had a seizure while at Wal-mart because she was not allowed to bring her dog in just because her dog happens to be a pit bull? That's what irritates me about the situation
This girl was told that "there are kids around" and that her dog was viscious because of it's breed, which everyone with 1/2 a brain knows isnt true. My pittie foster went to a home with a 7 year old boy and an 11 month old girl and he is just fine with them, as are the thousands of other pit bulls who are great family dogs.
I dont know this lady or her dog or what the dog is trained to do, or if the dog is in training but what if this dog had been a seizure alert dog and this girl had a seizure while at Wal-mart because she was not allowed to bring her dog in just because her dog happens to be a pit bull? That's what irritates me about the situation
Hi Boemy... no, puppies in training do not automatically receive the same legal access priveleges. It is at the discreation of business owner, transit, ect. In Washington it's rarely (thankfully) challenged these days. We had our "please don't pet me" badge on each dog/pup in training. I made sure we had them on when boarding a plane, ect. Was only challenged a few times and it happened to be in a restaurant, on both of the occassions, I had personal experience with.
Firstly...screw Walmart. I have had horrible experiences with every one I've lived near and tried to shop in regularly.
And as others said, this just adds to my hatred for them. This is extremely disrespectful.
Also, I have a friend who became disabled. She has a Rottweiler that, after becoming disabled and healing from that inceident as well as she would get, she trained to be her personal service dog. She trained it to get tissues for her when she sneezed, grab the cordless phone if she couldn't get to it (which she nicely equipped with a sort of handle, to prevent doggy drool in her ear!),basically, do tasks that she can no longer do easily at all. The dog is not only good for things like those hard daily tasks she has to go through, but also a confidence builder. Without him, she would probably be lost. She did not want to get a service dog, she wanter her dog to be her service dog, and she worked hard through her disability, with the constant help of friends, to train her boy to do these things.
Now, there are people out there, sadly, who mock the service dogs by saying that because their dog has a neat party trick, it can be a service dog. However, there are also people who have become disabled, and have trained their own pets to help them out.
So you really can't discriminate with "what ifs" here...since any dog with a service dog vest, can indeed be a service dog, with the few exceptions of those who are just made to be flashy by their owners, for whatever reason.
And even what seems like a small disability to you, may be hard for the person who has it, so whatever small task that dog is trained to do that you don't think it necessarily a big deal, that person can believe it is the most important thing in the world, and they deserve just as much respect.
Keeping in mind of course, these self-trained service dogs should have the same courtesy in public as those trained by organizations. My friend I spoke of went through extensive socialization classes with her Rottie before she was disabled. He, just like other service dogs, won't take food from strangers, won't walk up to strangers, etc etc.
And as others said, this just adds to my hatred for them. This is extremely disrespectful.
Also, I have a friend who became disabled. She has a Rottweiler that, after becoming disabled and healing from that inceident as well as she would get, she trained to be her personal service dog. She trained it to get tissues for her when she sneezed, grab the cordless phone if she couldn't get to it (which she nicely equipped with a sort of handle, to prevent doggy drool in her ear!),basically, do tasks that she can no longer do easily at all. The dog is not only good for things like those hard daily tasks she has to go through, but also a confidence builder. Without him, she would probably be lost. She did not want to get a service dog, she wanter her dog to be her service dog, and she worked hard through her disability, with the constant help of friends, to train her boy to do these things.
Now, there are people out there, sadly, who mock the service dogs by saying that because their dog has a neat party trick, it can be a service dog. However, there are also people who have become disabled, and have trained their own pets to help them out.
So you really can't discriminate with "what ifs" here...since any dog with a service dog vest, can indeed be a service dog, with the few exceptions of those who are just made to be flashy by their owners, for whatever reason.
And even what seems like a small disability to you, may be hard for the person who has it, so whatever small task that dog is trained to do that you don't think it necessarily a big deal, that person can believe it is the most important thing in the world, and they deserve just as much respect.
Keeping in mind of course, these self-trained service dogs should have the same courtesy in public as those trained by organizations. My friend I spoke of went through extensive socialization classes with her Rottie before she was disabled. He, just like other service dogs, won't take food from strangers, won't walk up to strangers, etc etc.
I don't have much against self-trained service dogs, provided they are trained to the same standards like chinchow's Rottie was. There was a thread on here not too long ago about some lady and her "service" dog, who was dog-aggressive and out of control in public one day. THOSE are the types of dogs that will/are make(ing) it hard for people with the commitement to the higher levels of training to get their dogs accepted.
I thought there was some sort of standard organization or test? There is for pets to be allowed in a hospital/nursing home, why not for variable service dogs?
I thought there was some sort of standard organization or test? There is for pets to be allowed in a hospital/nursing home, why not for variable service dogs?
I think the reason for not having a real certification process is just because "service dog" can be such a widely varied thing. We could be talking about a seizure alert dog, whose training is only going to come into play in that situation. Or in some cases, people suffering from severe depression have called their dogs service dogs so they can accompany them out in public places. I probably don't know the half of things that dogs are used for.
I was actually told by my therapist and doctor that they would write me a certified letter to carry with me stating that my dog Bentley is a service dog to help me deal with my anxiety and panic that I have.
I haven't gone to that yet, but I definitely would because anywhere that I have my dog with me.. it helps to calm and relax me and to help me focus as well. I've been discouraged to do this though because of situations like this where service dogs are asked to leave.
I haven't gone to that yet, but I definitely would because anywhere that I have my dog with me.. it helps to calm and relax me and to help me focus as well. I've been discouraged to do this though because of situations like this where service dogs are asked to leave.
PRECISELY why, until there is certification of some sort, if ever, that we must be sure laws regarding service dogs are obeyed. There should be no reason anyone with physician authorization should fear rejection from any public place because a service dog accompanies that person. If the law is not enforced then we inhibit the purpose of the law entirely. Abuse of the law is not a valid reason to deny the benefit of the law to those who benefit from the law.
A very good friend of mine has a very severe form of epilepsy. She was diagnosed when she was four, after suffering two seizures. Up until high school, the seizures were controlled by medication and lifestyle, but she averaged about one a month, but they were short, and not extremely intense.
At the end of middle school, the medication stopped working as well. They tried different meds, but nothing worked. She then, under advice from the doctor, looked into acquiring a service dog. Specifically, a Seizure-Alert dog. She acquired Charlie through a reputable service dog organization (I forget the name). He was a young golden retriever. She went through training sessions with him. He alerted her when she was about to have a seizure, and she took a dose medication which she always carried with her, and this effectively prevented it.
For that summer, she was only on those take-as-needed meds, and she didn't have any seizures. Charlie alerted her to an average of one seizure a week.
When she started high school, it became a problem. Some complaints of parents and teachers:
-My child is allergic to dogs. It's cruel for him to be in the same room with her and the dog.
-My child is scared of dogs. It's cruel for him to be in the same room with her and the dog.
-The dog is distracting.
-What if the dog bites someone?
Now, keep in mind that I also went to this school, and was in the same grade. My graduating class was 300 seniors. It would have been perfectly able to, through scheduling, make sure that she wasn't in a classroom with a teacher or student who was allergic to dogs.
And for distracting, the dog just laid there most of the time, calm as can be. How is that more distracting then some students that I went to school with?
And as for the cruelty thing: Yes, it might be hard for you to be in same room as your worst fear, but you don't have to touch it. You don't have to look at. You don't even need to go near it. I personally think that suffering through seizures is scarier. And more distracting to classmates.
Anywho, she fought the school board, and won. The dog accompanied her everywhere for those four years of high school - even during gym class!
Just wanted to share.
-Rosefern
At the end of middle school, the medication stopped working as well. They tried different meds, but nothing worked. She then, under advice from the doctor, looked into acquiring a service dog. Specifically, a Seizure-Alert dog. She acquired Charlie through a reputable service dog organization (I forget the name). He was a young golden retriever. She went through training sessions with him. He alerted her when she was about to have a seizure, and she took a dose medication which she always carried with her, and this effectively prevented it.
For that summer, she was only on those take-as-needed meds, and she didn't have any seizures. Charlie alerted her to an average of one seizure a week.
When she started high school, it became a problem. Some complaints of parents and teachers:
-My child is allergic to dogs. It's cruel for him to be in the same room with her and the dog.
-My child is scared of dogs. It's cruel for him to be in the same room with her and the dog.
-The dog is distracting.
-What if the dog bites someone?
Now, keep in mind that I also went to this school, and was in the same grade. My graduating class was 300 seniors. It would have been perfectly able to, through scheduling, make sure that she wasn't in a classroom with a teacher or student who was allergic to dogs.
And for distracting, the dog just laid there most of the time, calm as can be. How is that more distracting then some students that I went to school with?
And as for the cruelty thing: Yes, it might be hard for you to be in same room as your worst fear, but you don't have to touch it. You don't have to look at. You don't even need to go near it. I personally think that suffering through seizures is scarier. And more distracting to classmates.
Anywho, she fought the school board, and won. The dog accompanied her everywhere for those four years of high school - even during gym class!
Just wanted to share.
-Rosefern
