I LOVE DOGS! You already know that. I would love to take my dogs everywhere. I am always asking my parents if I can bring them with us to places that allow dogs. Home Depot, Bed Bath and Beyond, and Lowe’s will let you bring them inside the store even though their official policy is that only Service Dogs are allowed. If they ask you to leave if you do not have a Service Dog you have to leave though.
My mom won’t eat at the Dunkin’ Donuts near our house because too many times she has seen dogs in there. She took a video once to send to their main office and the man in the video called her the Devil. He was crazy.
It would be nice if dog owners were good about washing their dogs and getting their dogs the proper medicines so they don’t get worms or fleas, but they all don’t and that makes it good to not let dogs in all places, especially, restaurants.
Some people that have Emotional Support Dogs think they can bring them anywhere also. This is not true. These dogs are not recognized by the ADA rules. The dogs that are Service Dogs have to perform a function to help the person. I found this on a website: http://www.servicedogblog.com/2011/04/12689/
The dog must be trained to do something that mitigates the person’s disability and it must be directly related to the disability. The dog also must be trained to behave in public, be housebroken, and be on a leash (or, if such can’t be used due to the disability or tasks, verbal/hand command control).
You can legally ask two questions: Is the dog required because of your disability? What tasks/work has the dog been trained to do for you that directly relate to your disability? You cannot ask somebody what their disability is/what the nature of their disability is. You cannot ask for proof that the dog is a service dog. You cannot require a dog wear a vest, harness, or other identifying gear, although most real service dogs do wear a vest, harness, or pack.
If a service dog (real or fake) is misbehaving and the owner cannot regain control, such as a dog continually barking in a movie theatre, you may legally kick the service dog out at that time. You must allow the owner to come back into the business without the dog to finish their business there.
Remember, it is the PERSON who has the access rights, not the dog!
We read an article the other day about a man that was kicked out of a restaurant because he had a dog that helped him because he has PTSD from being in a war. The dog gets his attention if he starts to lose control. The dog is trained to do something unique to help this man. The dog does not just sit with him so he can pet him. But even in the article they say the dog is a Therapy dog, and that is incorrect. Here is a link to the article.
Therapy dogs, like Sunny, are not allowed to go where Service Dogs go. We have to call the people at the place we want to bring her and ask their permission. We have to prove that she has her shots and is registered with a licensed Therapy Dog organization. We are under the insurance of that organization should anything happen. We always make sure she has gone to the bathroom first and that we have with us, another leash, a bottle of water and a bowl, and bags and wipes just in case, before we enter any building with her. We also keep her no more than three feet away from us. We pay attention to how people handle her making special care to guard her eyes and feet and tail. You have to learn how to walk her up to people so everyone is protected. And we always ask if they want to pet her.
I think that if people do bad things and involve their dogs that is not nice and it makes the people that follow the rules angry because we get bad reputations for wanting to bring our dogs along sometimes.
I got the picture I used at https://rentpost.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/service-dog-5.png
dogs on my mind 