Pets- unpopular viewpoint
First, we do not dislike dogs per se. We used to have one and several family members have really cute, friendly dogs. Now the "however" part. Wife and I feel our culture is increasingly moving toward ...
Forum Discussion
Like many situations, the laws and definitions exist, it's all about enforcement. I am all for dog friendly places where it is not a health code violation such as in non food selling stores if they choose, restaurant patios if they choose, and more dog friendly parks and beaches. But some people are ignoring the law and using fear of confrontation and offence to abuse legitimate situations.
A service dog can be looked at as a living, breathing assistive device for someone with a disability. Service dogs are sometimes compared to wheelchairs in their ability to help their disabled partners live more independent lives. Since service dogs are not primarily kept for companionship, they are not considered pets.
The Americans with Disabilities Act essentially requires three things for a dog to be a service dog. First, the person helped must have a life-limiting disability. Second, the dog must be trained to recognize and respond to the handler’s disability by doing either work or tasks. Third, the dog must not cause a disruption in public, otherwise the dog can be legally excluded. Service dogs must be both housebroken and leashed except when the dog needs to be off-leash to provide disability-related work or tasks.
Any other animal, comfort, emotional support animal, etc, IS NOT a service animal and IS NOT afforded the same access a service animal is.
I too have seen a significant uptick in people bringing dogs places they should not, mainly the small ones that can be carried. Owners blatantly carry these animals into stores, grocery stores, restaurants, and other places where they are health code violations. The managers of these locations are often afraid to confront and offend the dog toting individual, however you do not see comfort dogs at places that are not afraid to enforce like Disneyland.
If it is obvious a service dog is acting as a service dog, users should not have challenges to their access. If a dog’s service dog status is not obvious, a business cannot ask about a person’s disability or require work or task performance or documentation of any kind, but may ask only two questions to figure out whether the dog is a service dog:
1 Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
2 What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
As a society, we have become so afraid of offending others, and feeling like we have the right to not be offended, that some people are willing to disregard the rules because no one will stop them.
A service dog can be looked at as a living, breathing assistive device for someone with a disability. Service dogs are sometimes compared to wheelchairs in their ability to help their disabled partners live more independent lives. Since service dogs are not primarily kept for companionship, they are not considered pets.
The Americans with Disabilities Act essentially requires three things for a dog to be a service dog. First, the person helped must have a life-limiting disability. Second, the dog must be trained to recognize and respond to the handler’s disability by doing either work or tasks. Third, the dog must not cause a disruption in public, otherwise the dog can be legally excluded. Service dogs must be both housebroken and leashed except when the dog needs to be off-leash to provide disability-related work or tasks.
Any other animal, comfort, emotional support animal, etc, IS NOT a service animal and IS NOT afforded the same access a service animal is.
I too have seen a significant uptick in people bringing dogs places they should not, mainly the small ones that can be carried. Owners blatantly carry these animals into stores, grocery stores, restaurants, and other places where they are health code violations. The managers of these locations are often afraid to confront and offend the dog toting individual, however you do not see comfort dogs at places that are not afraid to enforce like Disneyland.
If it is obvious a service dog is acting as a service dog, users should not have challenges to their access. If a dog’s service dog status is not obvious, a business cannot ask about a person’s disability or require work or task performance or documentation of any kind, but may ask only two questions to figure out whether the dog is a service dog:
1 Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
2 What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
As a society, we have become so afraid of offending others, and feeling like we have the right to not be offended, that some people are willing to disregard the rules because no one will stop them.
