Service dogs are NOT here for your enjoyment

[d962831]

I've been witness to something similar. I was recently at mall of america (oh ya!, shopping...*sarcasm) and a blind couple where in the food court and they both had seeing eye dogs. I was absolutely impressed with the dogs, they were standing very still dispite the obvious assault on their nostrils by all the food. Then you know what someone does? They tell their kid to "pet the pretty puppies." So not only does the kid go up to them and pet them, the kid is holding a hamburger and teasing the dogs with it. Meanwhile the parent is laughing as the dog thinks it's going to get some food. I must say though that those dogs were remarkably well trained, for even as the kid was walking away trying to get the dog to follow, the dogs stayed put.

[BookstoreEscapee]

Bagga - to answer your question, people want to pet dogs because they're cute and furry and cuddly(-looking, at least). I used to bring Pablo into the store to visit once in a while and people always wanted to pet him. He's about the mellowest dog there is so it's not a big deal. (Just don't bring another dog around....)

I'll admit I always loved it when people came in the bookstore with their dogs. Granted, they were all "pocket-pups" - chihuahuas, yorkies.... As long as the dog could be carried (and they didn't bring them in the cafe) we didn't mind. I would always say hello to the dogs, and offer my hand for them to sniff, and pet their heads if they let me. There was one woman who came in occasionally with her chihuahua, who was the sweetest little girl named Bella, and she would let me hold her. When I encounter larger dogs, I don't try to pet them unless the owner says it's OK, and I always offer my hand to sniff first. Though sometimes they just come up to you and clearly want to be loved, which I don't mind.

There was a woman who came in the store once in a while with a seeing-eye dog, though. It was a beautiful black lab, and I would love to have been able to pet the dog, but I never had occasion to speak to the owner and I would never approach the dog. I would see them in the newsstand or in the cafe, and the dog would just lie on the floor at her feet until she was ready to move, or in the cafe it would lie under her chair.

I do remember the little girl who was apparently afraid of dogs, who saw this big seeing-eye dog, and got terrified, crying hysterically and looking frantically for her dad. I felt so bad for her but it was cute at the same time. We got her calmed down though and told her about seeing-eye dogs and she wasn't so scared after that. Of course in the commotion the dog didn't even respond.

[draggar]

Draggar....I'm curious.

May I ask what your wife's dog is for? Collies aren't huge dogs, but they're strong...so they could be used for balance I suppose.

He (and the other 2) are used for mobility assistance, like 4-wheel drive cane. Zorro also does retrieval for her (she'll drop something and he'll get it for her). My wife has prosthetic hips so walking for her at times can be difficult.

She has a harness specially fitted for MacLeod and Zorro (luckily they're both about the same height). Kiri is tall enough she really doesn't need it but still uses one so she gets used to it.

And yes, MacLeod is a very strong collie, even though he's going to turn 10 this year.

[Seshat]

Minor derail:

This thread seems to have garnered attention from animal lovers. Which is great!

Those of you who love animals, know how to socialise dogs or are willing to learn, and want to do something important: please consider helping service animal organisations.

Service animal organisations often need:

• Homes for the mothers who are breeding the next generation of service animals*
• Puppy(etc) raisers who are happy to socialise and raise the puppies to training age
• Retirement homes if the animal's 'human' for their working life can't look after them
• Homes for washouts from the program

(* The fathers are often working, since they don't have the whole pregnancy thing to deal with.)

Please think about whether you could offer any of these. If you can, look around for the service animal organisations in your area, and find out what they need.

It's not just dogs: they're the most common service animal, but I've heard of horse programs as well.
There are riding programs that apparently make a huge difference to many types of disabled people; and seeing eye horses are being bred from the miniature horses. The horses have a terrific range of vision, longer working lives, and can be used by some blind people who are allergic to dogs.

[BookstoreEscapee]

He (and the other 2) are used for mobility assistance, like 4-wheel drive cane.

Hehe, 4-wheel drive cane! I like that description

[Toujin]

Back when I was at Foothill College, there was a blind woman in my aquatic exercise class who'd bring her seeing eye dog, a golden retriver named Fowler, to the pool with her. He'd wait patiently at the poolside during class, and everyone was respectful of him.

I tend to be respectful of all animals, domestic or wild. I've always had a special bond with animals in general, I think it's because of my Asperger's

[PepperElf]

And I bet you hated your mom at the time for that but
1) Never did it again
2) Understand why she did it.

That's a sign of good parenting. Too bad its disappearing today.

actually i don't remember it, just what mom's told me since. but she did say i got spanked & didn't do it again


and... it hasn't been mentioned yet, but dogs aren't the only service animal (just the most abundant). One of my friends had a roommate who was a paraplegic. So, instead of a service dog she had a service monkey. never saw it but it sounds both cute and creative.


lastly... they have something really interesting here in japan... I didn't realize what it was for until I saw a blind woman walking on the sidewalk, rubbing her stick across the sidewalk in front of her....

Most of the sidewalks have a yellow strip with 3-4 shallow grooves along the length. At intersections it turns to raised circle bumps. In addition many - though not all - intersections play songs to let you know it's safe to cross.

photo example

[Shabo]

Collies aren't the biggest, but they are generally the same size or bigger than a Malinois. I believe they would be perfectly fine as a 4 wheel drive cane *giggles*.

Yes, I have seen programs on TV where they train miniature horses to be seeing eye ponies. I think that would cause more of a commotion than a dog though, and probably lots of stores refusing you entry. Also, it would take a very special mini as most of the ones I know are ornery and stubborn, and I would imagine that dogs are more readily available.

If anyone lives in SE Mass and wants to volunteer for a riding program for people with disabilities, there is one in Bridgewater called Handi Kids.

[Seshat]

and... it hasn't been mentioned yet, but dogs aren't the only service animal (just the most abundant).

I mentioned it in my derail.

Most of the sidewalks have a yellow strip with 3-4 shallow grooves along the length. At intersections it turns to raised circle bumps. In addition many - though not all - intersections play songs to let you know it's safe to cross.

We have the sidewalk patterns in some places too: they seem to be starting making them at the busiest streets, and spreading down to quieter streets as things get remodelled.

Our traffic lights don't play songs, but do have a pattern of beeps that changes from 'wait' to 'cross'.

Our currency is also designed to help the blind: the coins are all different, and similar coins have different mill patterns on the edge. The notes are different colours (for the partially sighted) and lengths (for the fully blind), but my blind friend says that sorting the notes based on length is really fiddly. She usually just asks people what each note is.

[BookstoreEscapee]

I just saw something recently on service monkeys...basically they are an extra set of hands and able to climb up and grab things. The woman he was being trained for was I think a quadriplegic.

I would love to be able to raise a puppy or something like that but I can't have pets in my apartment. I might be able to sneak a cat in but I don't think I dog would work too well

[Cia]

The dog of a woman I babysat for attacked and bit a young girl. The girl's father was going to sue Cathy and have her dog put down. That is until certain police records came to light - seems this girl liked to throw rocks at Cathy's dog. Cathy had spoken to the girl and her Dad about the incidents and also filed complaints with the cops. The cops didn't do much but Cathy did tell the girl and her Dad over and over again that if the dog got loose when the girl was throwing rocks she was going to get bit. Karma bit the kid in the ass so to speak. Cathy got to keep her dog, the girl was almost sent to Juvie and the Dad had to pay a fine.

[ArenaBoy]

I've been around service dogs since I was 5 and even then I knew not to mess around with them. It's amazing how smart animals are when you think about it. My mom said that when I was little and was playing with the cat, the cat would give a rough swat to stop me.

[Seshat]

My mom said that when I was little and was playing with the cat, the cat would give a rough swat to stop me.

My older cat has a whole chain of warnings she gives. She'll flick her tail and lay back her ears. Ignore that, and she'll hiss. Ignore that, and she'll give a bare-teeth louder hiss. Ignore that, and she gives a series of claw-retracted swats, really hard.

She only brings out the claws and biting if you ignore that whole chain (or if she's terrified beyond reason).


And my dog is learning SO well and being SO smart: she'll now lie down on the floor and watch you eat, but without whining or begging. Even when you give her a treat, she'll wait until you give her the command.

Well, except when she's (a) overexcited, or (b) the younger cat is around and being a treat thief.

[Sliceanddice]

next time you should bring a cane, or a biug stick, and put a added little sign that says 'Or my owner will beat you and just start waking

[Toujin]

I've been around service dogs since I was 5 and even then I knew not to mess around with them. It's amazing how smart animals are when you think about it. My mom said that when I was little and was playing with the cat, the cat would give a rough swat to stop me.

Drummer, the first kitty I grew up with, basically did that whenever my sisters or I played too roughly with him. It was thanks to him, and my dad, that I learned how to treat cats.