There was so much hate mail about the service dog controversy article that I have removed it. I wasn’t the target of the hate mail, my skin isn’t that thick so I thank you all for that. The hate mail was targeted from readers to readers and at the person who asked the first questions which were the inspiration for the article.
After reading all of the mail, yes, I suffered through every one, I learned something. It’s not that people hate each other necessarily, although there were a few that said they did, it’s because each person has their own idea of what a Service Dog is and I have to face it, some people just don’t like dogs.
The thing I learned is that none of the people who sent hate mail were ready to give any ground on their own beliefs. They are set solidly in their ways and would not open the conversation and take the time to hear what anyone else had to say. Is that because they have pain and suffering of their own, too close to the issue to see any other opinion, or that they like to stand their ground to keep a fight going? Maybe all.
The most poignant of the replies were written by family members of those who have served in the military and who need Service Dogs. These replies were the hardest for me because many said they didn’t read the entire article, they couldn’t get past the negative comments that were listed about service dogs. There was so much pain in those letters, I wound up crying while I was reading them. Part of the reason I was crying was because the post wasn’t about why people shouldn’t have service dogs, it was about why they should.
The only way for all of us to learn anything about each other is to listen and talk.
There were a lot of people saying that they didn’t like dogs at all and don’t want to share their public lives with dogs, no matter the reason. I had to shake my head at those letters. Why are they reading my blog? It’s all about dogs!
The biggest complaint and the most hateful words, very strong language, were that “People are faking, pretending that their dog is a service dog so they can have it in public with them. That’s not fair to people who really need service dogs.” These comments were from both people who need Service Dogs and those who don’t need them. Some were from trainers who train service dogs.
I chose several emails and replied to them. My question was, “What difference does it make for you whether a person is with a Service Dog or pet dog? If the dog is well behaved, how does that hurt you that it’s in public?” The answer I got from most was, “Because those people are lying. They put a vest on the dog making it look like the dog is a Service Dog but it’s not.” So my next question was, “If the dog is naked with no vest, or wearing a vest labeled ‘Pet Dog’, would that be okay with you? Then person would not be lying about the dog.” The replies were mostly, “No. If someone sees a dog with a vest on, they automatically think it’s a Service Dog when it’s not so no, that is not right. They are lying and I won’t accept that in my public life. A naked dog without a vest is a pet dog and should not be allowed in public shopping areas.”
Now for the other side of the controversy. People with pet dogs, not Service Dogs, replied to my question, “What would you like to see happen with the question of dogs, pet or Service Dogs, in public areas?” The replies were almost unanimous. “All well behaved dogs should be allowed in public areas, not just Service Dogs.”
I did get some extremely well written and well thought out letters from people with Service Dogs. Their problem with pet dogs being allowed in public were mostly about a specific incident that caused them a problem. One woman wrote that a pet dog had “made a mess” in a grocery store and the manager said that no dogs would ever be allowed in again. It caused her a lot of grief and time to educate him about the rights of people who have Service Dogs. She says that manager now allows service dogs into the store but he doesn’t like it and treats her differently than he used to because she has a dog. The manager, in her words, “Looks like he’s just sucked on a lemon when we come into his store. He used to be very nice to us and even asked if he could pet my dog on occasion. He doesn’t do that any more.” My suggestion to her was to talk to the manager again, tell him her concerns and that if he continues down this road, she will speak to the owner of the business. If that does not remedy the manager’s attitude, don’t do business there any more. Manager’s are often ruled by their own attitudes. Owners like to see profits and often have ways of changing manager’s attitudes or changing managers. If anyone at my store ever treated you or anyone badly, I would have a heart to heart with them to find out what I could do to change their attitude. If it could not be changed for the better, that person would be looking for a new job.
Some of the letters likened pet dogs to people with guns. A “loose cannon” as some referred to it. I agree that dogs who are not well behaved in public and people who hurt other people should not get to share public space. I don’t think there is one person who would think that a dog pooping, tearing up displays, jumping on everyone, licking whatever they want, or people with guns or who toss obscenities around are welcome in our public life. But that’s already on the law books, it’s already a regulation. People get arrested for shooting people and disturbing the peace. Dogs who are acting badly are asked to leave. It’s nothing new.
So what really is the argument? Is it more that people don’t want other people “lying and faking” or is that we are stuck in our ways?
A Service Dog helping a person in public is by description, a well behaved dog trained to help a person to make their quality of life better. A well behaved pet dog along with it’s person whether it is trained to do something or not is also making the person’s quality of life better. That is one thing that almost everyone agreed with, “Dogs make our lives better.” What is the difference then? The disability?
I would like to see all dogs have a job to make our life of better quality. Although I don’t need a Service Dog, yet anyway, my Dancer was trained to help me. She took clothes out of the dryer, could pick up and bring anything to me, including a dropped credit card which I call her ‘card trick’, and she often calmed me when I was hurting. Was she considered a Service Dog? Maybe according to the regulations, she was. But because she didn’t work for a person with a disability, she would not have been accepted as a working Service Dog. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could all hone our dog’s skills in public in case we ever become disabled? The only way to do that is to train them and get them out in public working with us.
Are there places we shouldn’t take our pet dogs? Yes, I think so. There are some places where there is only room for people and Service Dogs. There just isn’t enough room for everybody and their dogs so those of us who don’t have Service Dogs should respect that. For instance, there is a little coffee shop that I really like when I occasionally go for a cup. There isn’t enough room in there for everyone to take a dog along. It makes sense to me to use common sense and courtesy not to take up space from those who do need their Service Dog with them.
I don’t want to forget to mention all the wonderful email that came in for this article, too. There were many beautiful, thoughtful and caring comments from people who understood what the article was about, for both sides of the issue. I liked that so much.
All future comments to The Dish will be posted without further comment from me unless it comes to Ask Darcie. I’ll allow them as comments as they are written. Except for those that threaten to kill someone or their dogs or if I have to edit too many curse words, those I will delete, again without comment from me. Thanks. Darcie
I have used SitStay for all of my dog supplies for a number of years now. A little over two years ago, my physician finally convinced me to get a service dog. I had needed one for a long time, but did not want to deal with the social stigma; A fear I’m sure many people looking into service dogs face. The dog I ended up getting was a rescue and he was a disaster. He was so violent and unpredictable that the animal control officers that found him wanted him put down. I have been training for over 10 years and have had some awful cases before, but this one was the worst. It was really the first time I thought that I’d taken on too much and that I wouldn’t be able to save this dog, let alone train him to help me. It took a grand total of three days to turn him around. Six months later, he was ready to go out in public with me. I remember that first day out with him when I knew that he was working and not training, it was amazing. My life became so much easier, I felt safer with him at my side. We have had some negative experiences but have also met so many great people. Just a few months ago we met a mother who had her young daughter with her. The mother had been looking to get a service dog for her daughter for some time. The sweet little girl had a number of serious medical issues, including epilepsy. Lobo, my service dog, is always so careful with children. He lays down for them and is eternally patient with the kids we meet. He was especially sweet to this mom and daughter. I gave her one of my “I’m a Service Dog” cards that I purchased from SitStay and she later contacted me to let me know she had found a dog for her little girl. Those cards have helped me countless times! Not to mention all the people I have shared them with who needed more info on service dogs themselves. My heart goes out to people with service dogs who are treated badly in public. I’ve had my share of nasty run-ins and its always very painful. Your cards have saved me from many unpleasant situations. I cannot thank you enough for offering them on your site. Thank you for your kind words about working dogs. Best wishes to you Darcie!
-Rachel Nielsen and Lobo
P.S. I’ve included a link to a picture of my sweet boy, Lobo.
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh225/freedomshocked/Lobo3.jpg
thank you for dealing w/this controversy w/so much compassion.i have a young service dog that a wonderful trainer is helping me train for public access.there are many folks that need education about dogs in general.and service dogs seem to bring up alot of insecurity and fear.
there is a great amount of training and time necessary to help a dog become good at their tasks and public access.most folks are not aware of that.
my dog and i get hassled mainly in small stores,bakeries,etc.
the library, and the larger stores like safeway ,starbucks,etc dont ever ask or act weird.they have trained more of their staff to understand the ADA.
my dog and i end up shopping at these larger stores because its easier.im unhappy that i dont spend my money w/as many smaller businesses. but i refuse to share my money with folks that give me a difficult time.maybe,this will change as more businesses become acquainted w/ service dogs.i would not be able to live as independently w/o my dog.he is an asset to my life daily
I’ve had a service dog, Honey, for several years now. A trainer helped me start her and I honed her individual duties to fit my needs. We get questioned sometimes as to what does she does for me as I don’t appear to have an obvious disability. So I go through the list of things she does waking me in the morning, picking things up, calming me down, alerting me if my chemistry is off. My husband says I should tell everyone she’s my spiritual and financial advisor, which I thought I might try next time!
I think some of the people who have problems with service dogs have an underlying belief that somehow we (the disabled) are “getting away with something”. Like we’re getting to “play” with our doggies. Or Maybe they’re just stodgy old Republican right winger fundamentalists er somethin’. But I know what everyone is referring to. It’s like a jealousy thing. Gee, I’d give them my disability anyday!!!!
Iloved Fran’s letter. It pretty much states my case. I too have service dog. I too have various disabilities, which aren’t apparent. I hate it when people have the nerve to ask “What does your dog do for you?” I think next time I get this comment I will say that he’s my spiritual and financial advisor as Fran suggested.
Frankly, if you really believed pets should be everywhere in public you’d be working to change things so they can be. Step one would be mounting a campaign for better behaved pets. You might be surprised what many consider “well behaved” these days, including biting, growling, lunging (“he just wants to say hi!”), pooping and peeing, crotch sniffing, jumping on people, and more. I’ve lost count of the number of times my service dog has been attacked and bitten by so-called well-behaved pets, who’ve “never done anything like that before.”
Given your attitude about supporting people pretending pets are service animals, and your advice to boycott businesses that don’t treat people with disabilities with respect, I’ve started a campaign to boycott your business. Yes, I know the majority of your vest customers are pet owners so it won’t really hurt your business.
On the plus side, I also helped pass legislation that fines fakers and sends them to jail, and that gives me a small measure of increased safety. You campaign for pets being passed off as service animals and make just as much money as you can off them, and I’ll show off the scars on my arm from defending my dog to legislators and continue my own lobbying efforts. At least one of us won’t be doing it for the all mighty buck.
Kirsten, actually I think Darcie is working to make better pets. Did you see her articles on Bite Inhibition? Her whole blog is loaded with how to make your dog a better dog in private and in public.
Above she states “I agree that dogs who are not well behaved in public and people who hurt other people should not get to share public space. I don’t think there is one person who would think that a dog pooping, tearing up displays, jumping on everyone, licking whatever they want, or people with guns or who toss obscenities around are welcome in our public life.” So you and her agree on that.
Oh and by the way, how can you possibly “know” that most of the vest customers are pet owners? You can’t. You are making an assumption and I’m pretty sure, a wrong one. No where does Darcie advocate putting vests on non-service animals. She advocates better training and better dogs.
I think you and her both want the same thing. She does it by educating dog lovers, you do it by helping to pass laws. One works with dogs before a problem, the other after.
Kristen, I don’t understand your rant against my article and SitStay.
Please read my articles about service dogs again. Your note says that you think I support people who pretend that their dogs are service animals. That’s not what I said in the article. I said that if a business won’t let a service dog in, that person with the service dog may want to withhold business from the store who is breaking the law. I’m not sure how anyone could argue with that.
I’ll continue to encourage people to train their dogs, I’ve been doing that my whole life. You must be new here and just haven’t gotten around to reading my help articles yet.
If I was in this business to get rich, I’d be selling electric shock collars and bleached rawhide like most of the pet stores do, those things sell like hotcakes to people who don’t know how harmful they are. I won’t do that because I don’t believe they are good for dogs. I write about that often. It’s been said by me before, I’d rather live in a box than hurt a dog.
I hope you heal quickly from your incidents with dogs, it sounds like you’ve had quite a lot of trouble with them.
Just to clarify for readers who might see a dog wearing a vest: A dog wearing a vest may be a therapy dog or a working dog. Service dogs are not the only dogs who wear vests. It’s the patch and the message on the vest that makes it clear what the dog’s career is.
Kirsten, I hope that you write again after reading my service dogs articles again. It doesn’t happen often but when someone misreads my articles, it hurts my feelings. I work so hard to get it right and right is good.
Thanks for listening. Darcie
Darcie, You wrote: “A Service Dog helping a person in public is by description, a well behaved dog trained to help a person to make their quality of life better. A well behaved pet dog along with it’s person whether it is trained to do something or not is also making the person’s quality of life better. That is one thing that almost everyone agreed with, “Dogs make our lives better.” What is the difference then? The disability?” Your description of a “service dog” is inaccurate and does not conform to codified law. There is a basic flaw with your premise: a service dog is not there to make a person’s quality of life better, as you state in your description. “Service Animal” (or “Service Dog” if you prefer) is a legally defined term, which has a legal definition. Since the definition has been codified in Federal law, one cannot just arbitrarily change the definition to fit one’s ideal or desires. You did manage to hit on the exact differentiation, however. Yes, it is in the “disability” that makes a service dog a service dog; the individual training that the animal has had to mitigate the life-limiting effects of their handlers’ disability. Not “improve the quality of life” or “makes me feel better”. Direct mitigation of the effects of the handlers disability is required through trained work or tasks. The mere presence of the animal is not considered a legal task or work under the ADA, which gives both the legally codified definitions for “disabled” and “service animal”. If an individual has not been legally qualified as “disabled” under the ADA regulations, then no dog they have in their possession is legally a “service dog”, no matter how much training the animal has had, how much better the animal makes them feel or how much their percieved “quality of life” is improved. If the animal has not had individualized special training that directly mitigates the effects of the handlers disability (the animal must do something for the disabled person that the disabled person cannot do for and of themselves), then it is not legally a “service dog”, no matter how disabled the person is. Both requirements must be met; Legal qualification of disability AND specialized task or work training that directly mitigate the disability. THAT is what makes a “service dog”. Nothing else. Thanks for your time. Todd and Candy.
Dear Todd and Candy, Please read my articles again in the light of the discussions we were having at the time of the articles. We were talking about service dogs and whether or not pet dogs should be allowed out in public. I wrote “description” as you rightly quoted and not “definition”. And you’re right, there is a difference. Service dogs do give people a better quality of life no matter who is describing what service dogs do. I haven’t met anyone who would disagree with that. Of course you knew I was talking about disabled people when I talked about someone needing or having a service dog. The ADA states, “The ADA defines a service animal as any guide dog, signal dog, or other animal individually trained to provide assistance to an individual with a disability. If they meet this definition, animals are considered service animals under the ADA regardless of whether they have been licensed or certified by a state or local government.” The ADA does not require licensed or certified training of dogs.
I’m sure that you’re not saying that someone has to have paid doctors and hospitals to diagnose them as disabled in order to enjoy the services of a service dog. Whether they have the ability to pay for such services or statements, they are still disabled. For our Readers: The ADA states to businesses, “Some, but not all, service animals wear special collars and harnesses. Some, but not all, are licensed or certified and have identification papers. If you are not certain that an animal is a service animal, you may ask the person who has the animal if it is a service animal required because of a disability. However, an individual who is going to a restaurant or theater is not likely to be carrying documentation of his or her medical condition or disability. Therefore, such documentation generally may not be required as a condition for providing service to an individual accompanied by a service animal. Although a number of states have programs to certify service animals, you may not insist on proof of state certification before permitting the service animal to accompany the person with a disability.”
So If you are saying that a disabled person must first pay doctors and hospitals to be diagnosed and receive certification that they are geninely disabled, please send me the legal proof of that. In a perfect world, anyone with a disability, whether they have the resources to pay to have a doctor say that they are disabled, should be able to have the services of a service dog.
If you’ll read it all again in the light of the discussion and the intention of the articles, I think you’ll be happier with me. Thanks. – Darcy