Service Animals

[Dftodd]

There are a couple of businesses where I'm expected to bring my dog; the hardware store and the saw shop. Also my vet's office, even when I just stop to get meds. That's to be expected, but (like my last dog) he's apparently one of their favorites.

Gypsy is a favorite at the local vets office. She has to go behind the counter and have her "girl time" with the ladies whenever shes in there.

The two times shes been in there for an over night stay, she's spent the day hanging with the girls working the counter instead of being cooped up in a cage. They just put up a child gate to block off the entrance to the lobby. It surprised me the first time I stopped by to pick her up and her head popped up over the counter next to the receptionist :laughing:

 

[Jstpssng]

Our late Jack Russell terrier was going blind. We realized he was having an issue when he tried to jump onto the back of my wife's recliner. (He would sit up there and look out the window). He over shot and bounced off the wall before hitting the floor After that we would help him up and down.

He also developed dementia a couple years later.

I knew that my last dog was going blind when she tried to jump into the pickup bed as she'd done all of her life, and bounced off the tailgate cable. My parents had a light colored floor in their kitchen, it got so that we would have to put dark colored rugs down before she would walk across them. She was (a little too ) fearless for all of her 14 years, yet wouldn't go anywhere unless she could see what she was getting into.

 

[Diggin It]

It surprised me the first time I stopped by to pick her up and her head popped up over the counter next to the receptionist.

Surplus hardware store I go to has a Great Dane that does that.

 

[Molalla1]

Gypsy is a favorite at the local vets office. She has to go behind the counter and have her "girl time" with the ladies whenever shes in there.

The two times shes been in there for an over night stay, she's spent the day hanging with the girls working the counter instead of being cooped up in a cage. They just put up a child gate to block off the entrance to the lobby. It surprised me the first time I stopped by to pick her up and her head popped up over the counter next to the receptionist :laughing:

Gypsy, pictured? . . . If so she is a beautiful dog. That is your GSD pictured in your avatar.

 

[Dftodd]

Gypsy, pictured? . . . If so she is a beautiful dog. That is your GSD pictured in your avatar.

Yup. That's my Gypsy girl

 

[Molalla1]

Yup. That's my Gypsy girl

:thumbsup: , , ,

 

[wheelbuilder]

My wife and I have a therapy dog. It's our second dog to be one. They don't just go places, they're supposed to be invited and have a task (like having children read to them, or visit with willing persons in a nursing home). They are well trained, good natured dogs that passed a test by an evaluator. It can be pretty rewarding to work with them.
A service dog is a different critter. They are highly trained to do a task for a person who cannot. They don't need an invitation and are generally the only animals allowed in a restaurant.
Emotional support animals, I don't understand. If you have a need for a service dog, that's that, get one. People that use that as an excuse to force a dog on everyone give other ones a bad rap. Every pet is an emotional support animal (even those bees), but they don't belong in every situation. I've got no gripe with someone bringing a well behaved animal into most places, but pets on a plane ? Do you want to ride next to my 200 lb dog ? I wouldn't do that to someone who didn't get a choice.

 

[Jstpssng]

Emotional support animals, I don't understand. If you have a need for a service dog, that's that, get one. People that use that as an excuse to force a dog on everyone give other ones a bad rap. Every pet is an emotional support animal (even those bees), but they don't belong in every situation. I've got no gripe with someone bringing a well behaved animal into most places, but pets on a plane ? Do you want to ride next to my 200 lb dog ? I wouldn't do that to someone who didn't get a choice.

It's more than that. They use it as an excuse to bring their dogs into apartments where they aren't allowed, for instance. Based on my rather biased observations, service dogs are also the most untrained and unruly pets out there. I'm rather **** about taking responsibility for your animal; I travelled all over with my last Lab and anytime I checked into a motel I told them " If there's a problem I want to be the first to know about it." Yet hearing some of the horror stories motel owners have told me, it's pretty sad how irresponsible some people can be. I've also been told by those same innkeepers that the worst problems they've had with destroying rooms, etc was from people who "snuck their dog in."

 

[goeduck]

Dog takes a pee on the floor, someone walks by before it's cleaned up and the customer slips and hurts themselves.

No different than someone spilling their drink and walking away. Or a leak in the roof, or someone breaking a bottle on the floor accidentally. Etc. etc.

 

[goeduck]

Worth the read IMO...

https://www.ada.gov/regs2010/service_animal_qa.pdf

Keep in mind it's not the federal government giving the leeway per the definition of a service aninal, but the states.

Someone could register a colony of cockroaches as service animals, take it to their state legislative building and accidentally let them loose. Maybe then the legislatures would think twice about having such lenient laws. :shocked:

 

[aczlan]

No different than someone spilling their drink and walking away. Or a leak in the roof, or someone breaking a bottle on the floor accidentally. Etc. etc.

Except that if a dog takes a leak on the floor, its bodily fluids and therefore considered hazmat in many cases and has to be both cleaned up and sanitized unlike a glass bottle of soda that falls down and shatters where you just have to clean up the glass and make the floor not sticky anymore.

Aaron Z

 

[goeduck]

Except that if a dog takes a leak on the floor, its bodily fluids and therefore considered hazmat in many cases

No different than kids leaky diapers in grocery carts.

 

[Jstpssng]

Someone could register a colony of cockroaches as service animals, take it to their state legislative building and accidentally let them loose. Maybe then the legislatures would think twice about having such lenient laws. :shocked:

How would anybody know they were there? The cockroaches would fit right in.

 

[dougtrr2]

It's more than that. They use it as an excuse to bring their dogs into apartments where they aren't allowed, for instance. Based on my rather biased observations, service dogs are also the most untrained and unruly pets out there. I'm rather **** about taking responsibility for your animal; I travelled all over with my last Lab and anytime I checked into a motel I told them " If there's a problem I want to be the first to know about it." Yet hearing some of the horror stories motel owners have told me, it's pretty sad how irresponsible some people can be. I've also been told by those same innkeepers that the worst problems they've had with destroying rooms, etc was from people who "snuck their dog in."

That reminds me of a sign in a motel:
Dogs are welcome in this motel. We never had a dog that smoked in bed and set fire to the blankets. We never had a dog that stole our towels, played the TV too loud, or had a noisy fight with his traveling companion. We never had a dog that got drunk and broke up the furniture..... So if your dog can vouch for you, you're welcome.

Doug in SW IA

 

[Sigarms]

That reminds me of a sign in a motel:
Dogs are welcome in this motel. We never had a dog that smoked in bed and set fire to the blankets. We never had a dog that stole our towels, played the TV too loud, or had a noisy fight with his traveling companion. We never had a dog that got drunk and broke up the furniture..... So if your dog can vouch for you, you're welcome.

Doug in SW IA

You're assuming that people will be smart enough to ensure that before they go to bed, they will take their pets out one last time at night to go "potty".

I once told an old supervisor that there is no such thing as a stupid question. His reply (which I'll never forget) was "but there are stupid people in this world, you just need to know who you're dealing with"... I've come to the conclusion he was right.

 

[EddieWalker]

There are a couple of businesses where I'm expected to bring my dog; .... Also my vet's office,

This made me smile. The only place outside of dog shows that we bring our dogs is to the vet. They all go at least twice a year, sometimes more if something is going on. We keep them inside the van until the Vet is ready for us, and then somebody comes out to get us and escort us in. At first they would bring us through the front door and past the other customers waiting in the lobby with their dogs, but that didn't work out well, so now they bring us in through the back door to avoid the other dogs. As show dogs, our dogs are used to other dogs and pretty much ignore them, but as Akita's, if another dog challenges them, they react. Usually it's just a very deep growl, that will lead to raised hackles and then baring their teeth. It's very intimidating and both times that it happened there, it was because the other person didn't have good control of their dog and their dog showed aggression when we walked into the lobby. People actually got so scared that they ran out of the lobby the second time it happened!!! Nothing came of it, we keep our dogs on a very short leash and got him out of there right away and left the Vet and their Techs to deal with their clients in the lobby.

Which is why we would never bring our dogs anywhere. It's not that they misbehave, it's how they react to others that misbehave.

Matsu is a beast at 110 pounds and growing, but Kami is only 92 pounds and the truly scary one!!!

 

[Budweiser John]

Personally I don't care if someone has their WELL BEHAVED dog in a restaurant or whatever, it doesn't bother me a bit... but if it's not well behaved, leave it home or get a sitter.

And as far as i知 Concerned the same thing holds true with kids.
This notion of spare the rod spoil the kid is BS...

B. John

 

[Sigarms]

Which is why we would never bring our dogs anywhere. It's not that they misbehave, it's how they react to others that misbehave.

Matsu is a beast at 110 pounds and growing, but Kami is only 92 pounds and the truly scary one!!!

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The irony Eddie is that I've been around Akitas before.

They (Akita's) are just as dangerous to the general public as pit bulls IMO.

That said, not every trailer trash park resident goes out and gets an Akita.

Nice looking dogs.

 

[Molalla1]

This made me smile. The only place outside of dog shows that we bring our dogs is to the vet. They all go at least twice a year, sometimes more if something is going on. We keep them inside the van until the Vet is ready for us, and then somebody comes out to get us and escort us in. At first they would bring us through the front door and past the other customers waiting in the lobby with their dogs, but that didn't work out well, so now they bring us in through the back door to avoid the other dogs. As show dogs, our dogs are used to other dogs and pretty much ignore them, but as Akita's, if another dog challenges them, they react. Usually it's just a very deep growl, that will lead to raised hackles and then baring their teeth. It's very intimidating and both times that it happened there, it was because the other person didn't have good control of their dog and their dog showed aggression when we walked into the lobby. People actually got so scared that they ran out of the lobby the second time it happened!!! Nothing came of it, we keep our dogs on a very short leash and got him out of there right away and left the Vet and their Techs to deal with their clients in the lobby.

Which is why we would never bring our dogs anywhere. It's not that they misbehave, it's how they react to others that misbehave.

Matsu is a beast at 110 pounds and growing, but Kami is only 92 pounds and the truly scary one!!!

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Eddie I see the look in her eyes . . . I know that look.

 

[caver]

Maybe I can get a bottle of my favorite beer registered as a support animal.