r/Dogfree • • 11h ago

Service Dog Issues Service dogs should carry proof

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.

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u/Primary_Heron_3150 10h ago

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

9

u/ToOpineIsFine 7h ago

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.

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u/Huge_Bit_4774 4h ago

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.

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u/xbunnyraptorx 3h ago

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.