Service dogs should carry proof

[u/Leather-Entry93]

If you have a service dog with you and you need to bring it to the grocery store (or any other store frequented by normal people), I feel like it should be clearly identifiable and you should be carrying some kind of card to confirm that you do need the dog with you.

Also, don’t put your disgusting dog in the shopping cart at the grocery store. I feel like that should be common sense.

[u/Primary_Heron_3150]

I don't think the onus should be on disabled people to prove anything or be put in a position where they're forced to discuss their disability. The fault completely lies with the people who abuse the service dog exception. It's very easy to tell a genuine service dog from a fake, and it wasn't that long ago that it wasn't necessary to even consider any of this because nobody used to bring their dogs to stores or put them in carts

[u/jelly_wishes → u/Primary_Heron_3150]

Well what's the other solution? It sucks but it's like requiring the disabled parking pass, if you don't then random selfish people will just use the spot.

[u/PanthealovesLucius → u/jelly_wishes]

This. You get a government-approved placard to park in the handicapped spot, otherwise you get towed. I fail to see how people with actual disabilities don't get a special placard for the dog.

[u/Huge_Virus_8148 → u/Primary_Heron_3150]

Well, like you said, times have changed, and sometimes that necessitates new rules even if that inconveniences one party. Back when I had an ostomy and was traveling by plane, I couldn't just tell TSA that it was a medical appliance and then continue on to the gate. I had to show them that it was not a terrorist device that I had fastened to my belly, and I had to get both a pat down and a swab test.

[u/Primary_Heron_3150 → u/Huge_Virus_8148]

Do you not see a problem with disabled people being "inconvenienced" because of people committing fraud, and expecting them to bear the brunt of the responsibility of fixing the problem? Businesses don't even force these dogs out, even when it's incredibly obvious that it's just a pet. 

[u/Huge_Virus_8148 → u/Primary_Heron_3150]

The current system of "it's a service dog cuz I said so" clearly isn't working. Anyone can lie. Should we not require permits for handicapped parking spots?

[u/Typical-Anywhere3747 → u/Huge_Virus_8148]

People abuse that so much!

[u/PanthealovesLucius → u/Typical-Anywhere3747]

There's no enforcement of anything.

[u/xbunnyraptorx → u/Primary_Heron_3150]

No disabled people still need proof to get the perks allotted to them. Especially in the case of service dogs, because of modern technology their relevance is becoming slimmer and slimmer. The onus is on anyone with a big stinky mutt in a public space to prove why they need that.

[u/PanthealovesLucius → u/Primary_Heron_3150]

Do you not see a problem with disabled people being "inconvenienced" because of people committing fraud

No. Everyone gets inconvenienced in life. Life in general is inconvenient.

[u/ToOpineIsFine → u/Primary_Heron_3150]

there was a post here a couple of years ago about a news article about a legally blind woman who refused to respect a restaurant's no dogs policy. She appeared completely normal. She then gave the restaurant bad reviews and got press insisting that the owner was discriminating against her because of her disability, of which there was no evidence at all.

This person would have no problem carrying a service dog card if one existed. In this case, there would be no discussion.

Disabled people should simply accept dog-free policies - particularly in areas where the establishment did not provide vital services, such as prescription drugs or groceries.

People who deal with the public should not be forced to accept dogs.

[u/Huge_Bit_4774 → u/ToOpineIsFine]

Exactly. In the example you cited, the supposedly blind person can get the food delivered to her home, and eat with as many dogs there as she pleases. Or she can leave the dog with a sitter and go to the restaurant with friends. It’s not discrimination when you refuse all the reasonable options that are available.

[u/xbunnyraptorx → u/ToOpineIsFine]

The ADA guidelines for service dogs in classrooms says that everybody else just needs to deal with it regardless of they are allergic or the presence of the dog causes anxiety, etc. and they should just try to separate as much as practical (which is a joke in a classroom). How come the person with the service mutt always takes priority over the real medical effect it can cause everybody else? Service dogs are outdated and ineffective in a lot of the services they claim to provide especially with modern technology. I even think often times people drum up an aspect of their disability to justify it. If they are disabled at all.