It seems like entitled people are like that Shakira song – Whenever, Wherever. You’re having a relatively good day and here comes one to mess with you, butt ahead in line, and scream their head off for some nonsense reason, like they haven’t got anything better to do.
A woman on Reddit told a story about how a child saw her service dog at the store and flipped out, crying their eyes out. In true entitled person fashion, her mom came over to berate the owner, getting racist, ableist, and even calling the cops.
Service dogs aren’t like other dogs – they belong wherever their owners belong and get special rules
Image credits: Rusty Clark ~ 100K Photos (not the actual photo)
The poster encountered a woman whose child got super upset when she saw the service dog a month ago, repeating the same scene
Image credits: throwaway975320
Image credits: Forest Service, USDA (not the actual photo)
The child was scream-crying and the mom got so upset that she called the police on the poster, making racist remarks along the way
Image credits: throwaway975320
The police gave her a warning for wasting their time, while the Walmart manager banned her for an entire year
For this article, Bored Panda reached out to the OP of the story to hear more details about their story.
Apparently the poster hasn’t run into that woman again and remains hopeful that she can avoid her. She believes that people act like the woman because they believe that some breeds of dogs are bred to be aggressive and cannot be anything but that.
Lots of people messaged her saying hateful things about her and the breed of her dog.
“I agree that typically Cane Corsos are not chosen to be service dogs, but sometimes you will have a dog who is what we call a unicorn dog.” OP argues that some dogs are suitable to be service dogs, no matter the breed or if they’re a family pet.
Her dad wanted a Cane Corso and when they noticed that she’s an alert dog by nature, she was privately trained to be one, explaining the slightly unusual breed.
OP doesn’t believe that it’s possible to leave service dog handlers in peace entirely, but she says that society is pretty good at the moment, despite their lack of knowledge.
On the other hand, she’s noticed that things have been getting worse ever since the COVID pandemic, as people have been bringing pets and emotional support dogs into places that aren’t pet-friendly. “It ultimately reflects poorly on the service dog community and creates access issues for the disabled.”
For any service dog handlers, OP has one piece of advice: “I suggest that service dog handlers get to know the staff at stores they frequently visit.” According to her, if you know the staff well and have a good relationship with them, they’re more likely to help you if something happens.
Finally, OP also gave a shoutout to the other Reddit user who is also a Cane Corso service dog owner, thanking them for the kind words of support.
Image credits: RODNAE Productions (not the actual photo)
We also reached out to Jenny Stamm, owner of the Doggy Stars blog, who is a professional dog trainer with extensive experience and many credentials, and also a service dog partner herself.
Jenny has some tips for people concerned about service dog etiquette.
“My first suggestion is to check the service dog for any patches that might say ‘I’m friendly, ask to pet’ or ‘Please do not pet’ or anything along those lines.”
Some handlers appreciate the social aspect, but in Jenny’s experience, most just want to do what they’re doing without being interrupted.
Additionally, it may be dangerous for a service dog to be distracted, as they may miss a sign and cause the handler a severe medical emergency.
Even if a dog has an “ask to pet” patch, people should still talk to the handler, not the dog itself. You never want to approach an unknown dog and get in their face.
Unfortunately, Jenny has many stories of being kicked out of various places illegally or otherwise discriminated against with her service dogs. Many people refuse to listen to her explaining the laws and just plain telling them to leave, without a single care about the actual U.S. laws.
If you’ve got questions about service dogs, from whether one is right for you to handler etiquette, Jenny Stamm has you completely covered with her blog. If you’re more of an audio/visual content person, you can watch the “What is a Service Dog?” video by Jenny.
But, if you’re looking for a more tight-knit experience of community, you may have luck on the Dogs With Jobs Discord server, which is administrated by Jenny as well.
Similarly to the OP of the story, Jenny pleads with everyone to not bring their non-service dog into non-pet-friendly places.
“Poorly behaved dogs can distract a service dog from their medically necessary work and cause severe injury to their handlers, poorly behaved dogs can attack and ruin hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars of work with a service dog, sometimes even forcing them to retire early, and even well-behaved dogs can cause severe allergy attacks or fear in bystanders.”
Image credits: appliedvitals (not the actual photo)
Reading the comments some more, I found some interesting pointers about interacting with service dogs you may not have thought about. With them being working animals, they are prone to getting distracted.
This leads to them missing cues from their owners, which may not be visible to you, but greatly unpleasant for them as well.
OP mentions that she wishes people just wouldn’t ask about service dogs, if they can pet them, what breed it is, anything. It may stress people out, potentially leading to a flare-up of their condition. A polite smile of appreciation at the dog is okay though, but you should refrain from touching them.
Imagine if someone started patting you while at work – distracting, huh?
Guide Dogs of America has some more pointers for those whose interest has been piqued.
You shouldn’t ever touch a dog without asking permission, as that may distract it from doing its job, as was mentioned before. It’s important to also keep your own dog away from a service dog, as it also may be distracting for them, especially if your dog is super excited or barking.
Interestingly enough, even if a service dog is sleeping, they’re still at work, so you best follow all the previous rules even if it’s taking a nap!
The woman’s story collected more than 4k upvotes on her first post and over 3k on the second one, with a total of more than 700 comments. People supported OP, saying that crying isn’t an emergency and that the lady should’ve prioritized her own daughter instead of berating the poor woman. If you’ve got stories of working dogs of your owns, the comment section is for you!
The community was in support of the poster, saying that the mom went way out of line
