SC's and service animals

[Akasa]

My best friend is blind, she has a seeing eye dog. Over the yearsw we've seen many things, been accosted by many idiots, and seen poor workers try to explain to these idiots that service animals aren't considered pets and are allowed in places like the mall and restraunts. We've gotten pretty snarky dealing with these people.

What's that dog doing in here?

We're at a restraunt, the dog is positioned under the table, out of the way, just laying there doing its thing, and someone decides to take offense.(This is really very common sadly.)
They start off yelling "What's that dog doing in here?" and get ignored. They raise their voice and try to tell us no dogs allowed. We be nice and tell them its a Seeing Eye Dog.
Thats not good enough. This is a restraunt and dogs aren't allowed. Our patience is ended, my friend pops off with "They let you in here didn't they?"

How'd that dog get in here?

Again someone being an ass about guide dog in public. We're in line to pay for our food and a man stands 10 feet back and screams at us "How'd that dog get in here" over and over. My friend replies "Through the front door. How about you?"

Thank you officer

We're at the mall doing some shopping. This woman won't leave us alone. She's followed us around for 20 minutes harrassing us about having a dog in the mall. I've tried explaining the Seeing Eye Dog thing to her and laid into her a couple times, she won't shut up or go away. She's been yelling this whole time. We get to the food court and there's one of the officers who roam. I flag him down and point at her. She thinks this is the prefect time to tell him how we're breaking the law having that damned dog in here.(Even though its in a harness, has the blue vest on, and my friend has those very dark sunglasses that wrap around. Its obvious!)
I tell him she's been following us around for at least 20 minutes yelling at us even after explaining its a Seeing Eye Dog. I ask to press charges for harrassment.
He agrees and starts writing ticket.
She gets really upset at this, "THEY HAVE A DOG IN HERE!!"
"Its a service animal mam, its been explained to you and yet you followed them around yelling at them. Call this number to find out when you go to court."
(Yes I followed it through. She got a nice hefty fine.)

I'm calling the cops on you
Again, its very obvious that my friend's service animal is not just a dog on a leash and is a working dog. From the harness, to the vest, to the dark glasses.
We were doign grocery shopping one day and this guy followed us through a couple isles calling "Here doggy doogy!" "C'mere boy!" and whistling at the dog.
We asked him 3 times to stop it.
I called the police, she pressed charges.
Its a federal offense to purposefully interfere with a service animal doing its job.
By the time the police arrived we were in isle 5 with him still following us calling her dog.

[Grumpy]

Mega-kudos for pressing charges against these assholes!

I think your friend needs a seeing-eye taser as well as the dog.

[Akasa]

I'm VERY protective of my friend.
Nothing makes me see red faster than someone messing with her. Not realising she's blind cause she doesn't have her dog with her cause she's out with me for a short trip is one thing.(I was there when she went blind before she was trained to use cane or dog, telling her where obsticals were, etc.)
Messing with her or her dog, or her because of her dog almost turns me into rabid attack squirrel mode.

[Snowbird]

Wonderful ownage on the two schmucks!

I don't know if it would help but maybe making up a little business card deal with the information on it about seeing eye dogs and where they are allowed might help? That might have a more official feel to it for the morons that just ... what rocks have they been living under, honestly? It could list websites/phone numbers to check up on for them too, if they still don't believe it.

[AlmightyALT]

Good job on following through! Hopefully they learned some lessons from this. I had a small cousin try to glomp onto a service animal once and I had to stop her and the gentleman who's dog it was and I explained to her why she couldn't pet the dog. She caught on quick for being six. Unlike those people who apparently never developed a brain past three years old.

Lovely snarky replys by the way.

[bainsidhe]

~sigh~ I read this post and

[One-Fang]

I'm gutted every time I'm out and see a service dog, because I am a sufferer of "awww doggie - wanna PAT IT!!!" But I know that I cannot. I've never even asked an owner "may I?" because it just seems horribly rude. Those dogs are working. That person is just trying to get around the shops and get what they need (or whatever). Neither needs the interruption.

So glad your friend has both a seeing eye dog and a rabid attack squirrel.

[godaistudios]

I actually have pet a service dog - then again, that dog was being walked by a co-worker at the time. The difference is that at the call center I worked at, the dog helped somebody that was legally blind, but could see enough with proper eqiupment etc. In my case, I wasn't interfering with the dog's job, though the dog pretty much acted like a well trained dog when I did pet him. Didn't make it a habit, but he had a nice and scruffy neck, and I didn't go out of my way to find the dog either.

[Akasa]

If she's standing around or sitting she lets people come up and pet the dog if they ask, or are a small child who got away from parents and ran to the dog. She understands the "Oh I wanna pet it!" urge people get.
That's completely different than trying to call the dog away from work!

[iradney]

Ya know, I'm not the brightest bulb in the bunch, but even I can tell the difference between a normal puppy and a service puppy. People are morons

[Gilgamesh]

Nice job handling those morons.

I get that "gyaa! doggy!" feeling at times - not so much now that I have my own - but having had a blind great-aunt with a seeing eye dog made sure I knew not to go pet them without permission... Gah, I don't like it when people pet my dog without permission, because he's an overexcitable moron – but to do that to a service dog...

[thehippie777]

Okay it's super easy to know if a dog is a service dog. Most of them always have "Service Dog" on their leashes & what-not. I had a person stay in the hotel that apparently had one because he had a lot of brain issues & would have seizures.

I have told people we do not allow pets. Then they have the nerve to say, "You have to allow services animals don't you?" Um, duh. But those animals are like trained well & stuff & the people who have them really need them. You are holding your yappy dog saying it's well behaved. Means nothing to me.

I like your friend's come backs. How did that dog get in here? lol I like that personality!

[candyshopgirl]

I'm gutted every time I'm out and see a service dog, because I am a sufferer of "awww doggie - wanna PAT IT!!!" But I know that I cannot.

Hey you stole my post.I feel the same way I love animal but I'm not an idiot moron.I was taught from an early age these animals are not for touching.(unless its not working and you ask permission,like laying beside the chair with the blind person taking a break.) And besides that the dogs (i've noticed) don't even pay any attention to the idiots. And what kind of ****************** idiot would distract a workign dog.Here doggie what a douchebag!!!!!!!1

[Mongo Skruddgemire]

I don't know if it would help but maybe making up a little business card deal with the information on it about seeing eye dogs and where they are allowed might help?

It's a nice idea, but it'll only work if these people are willing to do one of several things.

1. Read - Remember this is Customers Suck and there are thousands of stories of douchewaffles, asshats, and morons who in spite of 12 foot tall flaming letters proclaiming that X and only X item is on sale, will try to get Y item at the sale price. You think that these idjits are going to read a 2x3 inch card?

2. Stop being snarky - The common factor in all the OP's stories is the fact that these people are looking to get someone in trouble. Why else would they yell in the malls or restaurants if not to attract attention to something they think is illegal so they can have the guilty pleasure of being "Better than someone else" who is getting in trouble. These people want to see someone being dragged off in handcuffs.

3. Listen - This is rather like Read above. It was explained to them and yet they still act the asshole. Again, this is CS.com and there are stories a plenty about how the intercom cranked up to "Voice of God" pipes up and says that the store will close in 5 minutes...and people still try to stay for hours shopping.

Nice idea, but the only people it work on are the people that wouldn't find themselves being talked about and ridiculed here on CS.

M

[Crazeyal]

It's fantastic that there actually IS a method of dealing with idiots who abuse service animals. It's borderline unbelievable that it actually is enforced successfully. Kudos to you and your friend for standing up to the EWs' and winning!