People are extremely curious. Sometimes this curiosity leads to people not acknowledging or completely ignoring personal boundaries, while other times it makes them do the unthinkable. When a person sees another person walking into a store with a beautiful dog by their side, their innate curiosity kicks in and the ability for them to respect boundaries goes out the window. I wish this wasn’t the case, but unfortunately, it is a hard truth about society. In addition to this, most people love dogs. Seeing a dog makes some people lose their heads. They desperately want to pet it, snuggle it, play with it, and know everything possible about it. So, naturally, when a person walks into a non-pet friendly store, such as Wal-Mart, with a dog by their side, other customers in the store are immediately drawn to the dog and its handler. They often don’t respect the handler’s personal space or privacy, and demand to know as much about that dog as possible. Some believe that it is their right to pet the dog simply because it is out in public. A few people recognize that a dog in a non-pet store is a working animal, but many either don’t know or don’t respect that fact. It can be overwhelming for a handler to deal with the public attention towards them and their service dog, especially when all they wanted to do was go in, buy a few groceries, and leave. Due to public attention, a routine errand that should only take 30 minutes suddenly takes an hour just because strangers insist upon stopping the team to ask very personal questions or harass the team for bringing an unsanitary beast into the establishment. In this post, I’ll talk about my experiences with the public, how I field their questions, popular phrases or questions that teams get, and advice for other teams dealing with public scrutiny. Popular Phrases & Questions Teams Hear
Questions the Public is Legally Allowed to AskLegally, people are only allowed to ask: 1. Is that dog a service animal? 2. What tasks does he/she perform to mitigate your disability? It is completely within your rights as a service dog team to refuse to answer any questions other than the two listed above. Is it a service dog and what tasks does it perform are the only questions that the ADA requires handlers to answer. People can’t ask you what your disability is, ask you to have your dog perform a task as proof, or to present any form of ID or certification. ***If you do create an ID for your service dog, please do not use this as proof to gain access, because it will make it harder for other teams who don’t use IDs to gain access. Keeping an ID with your pertinent medical and contact information is perfectly fine, just try not to use it as a resolution for access problems. The general public may get confused and believe that since you had an ID, all teams must have an ID. My ExperiencesWe go into town 1-2 times a week to run errands and to work on Robbie’s public access performance. On a routine trip to Wal-Mart for groceries, we come a cross a minimum of 3 people who try to stop us either to comment on how beautiful Robbie is or what he does. I have been confronted by people who demand to know why I need a service dog, if he really is a service dog, if I could train their dog to be that well-behaved, and my personal not-so-favorite, “Oh, it’s so nice to see young people training dogs for returning veterans!” I have had one public access denial at a Mexican restaurant, though that seemed to be caused by a culture gap. I’ve had the pleasure of talking to local law enforcement about Robbie, in an effort to see if they would be of much help in an access dispute, and sadly, they would probably make the matter worse. While at the police station one day, we overheard the cops joking and laughing about me, saying to each other, “If it’s such a problem can’t she just leave the dog at home or outside?” Curse of being in a small town I guess. City cops around here just don’t give a damn. Luckily, the sheriff’s department was more supportive. Going out in public should be an adventure, a chance to get out of the house and improve Robbie’s skills, while enjoying a chance to do something fun. I try to have a good time, but strangers make shopping 10x harder when they chase me through the store staring and pointing, or yell louder that my dog is pretty when they assume I can’t hear them. I can hear you just fine… I’m ignoring you because you’re obnoxious! How I Field QuestionsI handle questions about Robbie and my medical condition in two ways. Good Days - If it’s a good day for me, I’ll tell people that he is a mobility dog, assisting me because I have a severe neurological disorder. If they seem interested, I may tell them about CRPS in an effort to raise awareness. Otherwise, I leave my answer vague, and accompany it with some of the tasks he performs, such as bracing, opening doors, and finding help. Bad Days - When my pain gets too high or I’m feeling weak, I will ignore people or brush them off with either a quiet “thank you” or “please don’t disturb us, we’re working.” If they continue to badger me, I walk away. Sometimes, walking away is the best option. Things I never do:
Advice for Other TeamsCan a business or individual ask you about your disability? NO, they can’t. Does this stop people from demanding to know every detail about your life, why your are disabled, how you are disabled, and why you need a dog? Again, nope!
People are naturally curious and nosy. When they see something odd or out of the norm, such as a dog in a grocery store or mall, they want to know why it is there. Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not condoning this behavior on their part, but I do sort of understand their point of view. Having complete strangers come up to you, demanding to know about your personal details is extremely rude and something most adults should know better than to do, but it happens nonetheless. Kids are one thing, as they are still learning social skills, but you’d think adults would be able to control themselves and would understand that other people don’t want to be harassed. Sadly, it would seem that once a dog gets thrown into the equation, logic and reason disappear. One of the most important things about dealing with the public is to attempt to maintain a professional air at all times. That is very hard some days when you’re hurting, tired, and frustrated, and all you want to do is run into a store, get what you need, and leave. It’s almost like people don’t realize that they’re being rude by asking what’s wrong with you or why you brought a dog in the store. It isn’t their right to know every detail about you, and yet they expect that you’ll tell them. Here are a few phrases that you could try to offer to people when you aren’t up to dealing with their incessant questions:
Public access can be extremely trying some days, but figuring out how to deal with questions, comments, and other people’s behavior towards your team is a part of having a service dog. Try to set a good example for other teams, but the integrity and public face of all service dog teams in the entire world does not rest solely on your shoulders, even though some teams believe that to be the case. As I always say, do what works best for you and your team, within reason!
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My Name is Sally...I have a condition called Complex Regional Pain Syndrome. This blog is about my journey training Robbie, a dog who helped me regain independence, confidence, and achieve the impossible in the face of my disability. It continues on with the training of Austin, Robbie's successor. Check Out... - "More than a Dog" was published on a site called The Mighty Categories
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