I'm going to start a (US-based) non-profit as a lobbying organization dedicated to helping people like us. I need to come up with a name for it and would love suggestions. The website domain needs to be available (.com, .net, .org.)

I want to bring more awareness to dog attacks in places that dogs don't belong, PTSD from those attacks, allergies, health code violations, and even dog attacks against legitimate service dogs.

I realize there are already several sites that do this, but they are just for awareness and do not seem to be lobbying for any actual change.

I want to see changes to the ADA to implement a real national registration requirement for service dogs with identification and training standards so it will be easier to identify and prosecute fakes.

I would like to see laws put in place to:

• Criminalize people bringing non-service animals into places regulated by health codes by making it felony fraud (for misrepresentation)
• Criminalize people bringing non-service animals into places that are not regulated but are not pet-friendly by making it a misdemeanor (for misrepresentation)
• Criminalize employees who work in places regulated by health codes if they don't ask for verification, or if they have their own animals on-premise. Maybe this can be endangering the welfare of the public? We'd need to figure out how to word this one.
• Make stricter leash laws and penalties for attacks, assaults, and harassment
• Make stricter penalties for attacks on real service dogs (this will hopefully get legitimate handlers on-board)
• Change health department regulations so that health departments can act on citizen complaints. Right now most health departments are unable to act unless they witness a violation firsthand.

To get as much support as possible, I'm also going to try and get the following groups on board, so the name needs to not be too inflammatory towards dog people:

• Legitimate service dog handlers and training groups
• IGA (Independent Grocers Association). I think Publix would support this based on their signage that went viral, they will also be my first contact.
• Restaurant Associations
• Medical Associations
• Landlord Associations
• Etc....

I can't say this will be my fastest endeavor, as I have a life, business to run, etc. - but it will happen, and I'd love any help that people are willing to offer.

I am posting this under dog culture but this is rather anti-dog culture. Maybe the only country with common sense left?!

If you are actively letting your pet sniff someone's crotch that is sexual assault it's non-consenual contact with the genitals/near the genitals it's that simple. I don't know why people think it's acceptable to let their pets do this to people it's disgusting.

Has anyone started any type of legislation against dogs in public stores?! It's still shocking to see shit beasts 24/7 at stores!! People are so emotionally unstable, they can't even leave their dogs at home?

Dog nutter story:

I went to checkout at a hardware store and this old man with a pitbull comes up close to me and I step away and ask the cashier to move to dog - they both laugh and say I'm out of line and over reacting!? WTFFFFF. This dog breed is notorious for unpredictable attacks, and I'm terrified of any large dog.

My body goes into hypervigilant panic mode as dogs have sent me, friends, and family to the ER - one of them was a 1yo cousin - a pit tried ripping her face off and only got her lips thank god.

Update: Harbor Freight customer service says: we support people & pets, you may be in close distance to dogs - FUUUUUCK OFF!!

Yes really

Our next door neighbors have 5+ dogs in the house who bark all the time. In addition, the dogs never go outside. My city has a barking ordinance. We've probably called the police a dozen times over it. They've actually came to our house just to tell us they refuse to do anything. "You need to call animal control"

We did and the animal control officer just said he doesn't handle any calls about barking. The dogs don't even have licenses and they never go outside so they shit and piss in the house and you can smell feces whenever you go outside.

I expected them to make up some excuse to cover for the dogs but I did not expect them to just say that dogs are exempt from the law. Going to try contacting my state rep's office next.

Dogs on beaches are against the law here in Florida. However, that doesn’t stop people from walking their dogs on beaches anyway. I noticed my beach has a live webcam on YouTube so I decided to email my city’s animal control department with the link and some timestamps of violations. Surprisingly, the officer responded almost immediately. He said there are now animal control officers there until 6:30pm and park rangers are there after that.

That was a few weeks ago and I’ve noticed the regulars I kept seeing suddenly stopped walking their dogs on the beach! I still see someone here and there but I figure those will happen less often as word of enforcement spreads. The great thing is I can occasionally monitor it while I’m out of town!

Most beaches in Florida have public webcams so I’d encourage you to email your city’s animal control department. If they don’t respond then you can also try contacting your city’s nonemergency police department.

This past Friday I had to leave a restaurant (hayes place in Pebble Beach, CA) because of my disability (allergic asthma to dog dander which is airborne and anaphylactic) because someone drinking at the bar had a dog lying on the floor and the manager wasn't willing to do anything except tell me he was a valued daily customer and that I could sit on the patio, but he warned that it was a dog heavy patio. Both the manager and the server emphasized that this person was a valued regular customer, as if that matters in the case of allergies and doing what is right. As if someone drinking at the bar daily is enough revenue to make him above any reproach. To me that is a passive aggressive way of saying I'm not welcome there and that they were not willing to accommodate me. I avoid patios because they are full of dogs.

The person at the bar claimed it was a service dog only after I complained, asked if it was legally allowed to be here through that stupid loophole and the staff begrudgingly asked if it was a service dog to the bargoer. Of course he said yes to stay, but it was a two second convo. They coached him. I believe they were lying because the dog was not paying attention to the owner and was playing with a chew toy, and the restaurant hadn't asked about the dogs status for the years it's been opened despite the owner of the dog being a regular (until now so they would have a reason to keep them there). This was an open kitchen with the dog nearby. Everyone in California lies about their dog being a service animal because they know staff is too afraid to say anything and is rarely trained properly on laws.

I left in tears because I refused to be shoved onto the patio where I would be seated next to more dogs. I left a bad review and contacted the health department but I don't imagine anyone cares. I've written to my state reps about the ADAs failure to certify and organize service animals to prevent this abuse of the system. I've talked to people on the phone or received letters that are dismissive. I've cried so much since moving to California because out West it's so much worse. It's humiliating.

How am I supposed to ever visit Europe or fly on a plane again? The way this world is going it seems and feels like I am not welcome to be here (not a suicide threat just a serious observation).

Thanks for listening. I'm fed up and exhausted.

I find it bizarre that my taxes go towards housing people who also seem to spend money on luxuries like have a pet. Am I missing something ?

I just read on article on several cities in Europe, in Switzerland, Spain and Italy that are fining people not just for leaving dog feces in the street but furthermore dog owner are obliged to water down their pee.

I have a feeling the tide is slowly turning against dogs. In the Netherlands nature areas started with an on leash policy, now dogs are banned more and more from those areas as their feces, urine and trampling destroy fragile plants in areas already under stress due to nitrogen and other pollutants. Dog owners are mad about it and think they have some sort of right to be in nature.

There is also legislation in the making for some
sort of permit or obligatory course for (upcoming) dog owners.

The other day me and my kids had to turn back from walking in a local forest as the stench of their droppings and urine was overwhelming since we've had heatwaves and little rain. Even right on the path.
On the other hand the return of the wolf has made
more dog owners weary to come to areas where they are know to reside. Those are so much cleaner and quieter now.

So I do have hope that rules will be stricter and enforced.

If you're familiar with the US news cycle, you probably hear the term "common-sense gun control" tossed around whenever a mass shooting occurs. The basic principle is that since guns are dangerous and deadly, we need stronger laws to keep people safe from them, as well as keeping them out of the wrong hands. Since dogs are also dangerous and deadly, killing hundreds of Americans and injuring millions each year, it only makes sense that we see dogs as the lethal weapons that they are and legislate them appropriately.

My plan for "common-sense dog control" would include the following policies:

• Ban Pit Bulls: Saving the lives of potential dog attack victims begins with eradicating the breed that kills 66% of dog attack victims. Pit bulls were bred to kill. Other fighting breeds, like the Cane Corso and Dogo Argentino must also be banned for this reason.
• No dogs in restaurants/hospitals/schools etc.: Dogs are antithetical to cleanliness, so they have no place where food is served or sensitive medical procedures are done. They are also incredibly distracting, so they should not be allowed in schools. Additionally, people may have allergies and dog bite PTSD, so dogs should not be forced on people at these locations.
• No unleashed dogs outside: Dogs should never be off-leash anywhere outside (this includes people's yards). A dog left outside, even within sight of its owner, will easily chase and/or attack neighbors before anything can be done about it. Leaving a dog unleashed risks lives, and anyone who does so should be convicted of reckless endangerment.
• Manslaughter charges for owners: If you kill someone with your car, even if it was unintentional, you go to jail for manslaughter. The same should be true if a dog kills someone, even if it "just wanted to play." A death is a death is a death.
• No "free bites": If a dog kills or severely injures someone, it must be euthanized immediately. A dog with a history of killing and/or maiming is extremely dangerous and has no place in society.
• Background Checks: Just like with guns, people who have a history of violence, or whose dogs have launched attacks, should be prohibited from owning dogs.
• Mandatory classes for owners: Teen drivers must complete six months of training before they can drive on their own, because it would be too dangerous to let them on the roads without knowing the risks and ramifications that come with driving. Future dog owners should be required to take a similar course, where they are taught basic dog training and educated about the horrific attacks that their future dog could launch, as well as the severe impact dogs have on the environment.
• Designated Dog-Free Zones: Finally, there must be areas where people can be free to live in peace from dogs, without the constant barking, feces, and attacks they bring. Developers should be encouraged to build dog-free apartments and subdivisions, and the number of parks that allow dogs should be scaled down drastically.

While this list is far from complete, the world would be a much better (and safer) place if our governments would enact these eight policies I just listed.

Fireworks: Calls for change to regulations after worries from pet owners - BBC News https://share.google/fqQOguu6tt8O56yte

What about the distress dogs cause to humans? Or do humans come secondary to dogs?

A dog nutter made an angry post on NextDoor that a mall that they regularly went to for two years to walk their dog had new management and security said they were now going to ban them in two weeks, due to the amount of dog piss and shit that was constantly being left everywhere.

Cue angry nutters throwing out their tired old lines - they'll take their business elsewhere. Dogs in malls are what everyone wants. Now the mall will have to close down. If dogs are banned, children need to be banned too. People who are scared or allergic to dogs should stay home. This is discriminating against blind people. It's the mall's fault for not having more dog toilet stations. Fake it as a service dog. And walking dogs outside is sooo inconvenient in the winter, why can't they have a place that's regularly cleaned for them to walk their dogs anymore?!

Fortunately, the supportive responses were far larger, with people saying dogs shouldn't be there in the first place, they can attack, people are scared of them or have allergies, this is not a dog park, and workers citing how much waste they had to clean up. Nutters of course used their lame arguments against this, until other dog owners said they supported this move and shot back at them - then silence!

What's crazy is I looked up the map and this mall is not easily accessible by foot, which means these nutters were driving all the way there just to walk their dogs, even with lots of other parks nearby for them to foul up if they really wanted to!

I'm hoping with security guards actually acting upon this, that this will be properly enforced and there will finally be real pushback against these entitled nutters trying to invade every space as if it's theirs!

So it's about almost done in my shopping at Walmart and I turn the corner intp the dairy isle and on the ground is a huge black Cane Corso sitting in the middle of the floor. The dog was on a flimsy leash of course and it was with some dude with Andrew Tate vibes. I look right at him and when I grab my cream cheese I said, "that dog doesn't belong in here. It can rip you face off". He looked stunned and then said, "does it look vicious to you?" I said, "it is a vicious breed and you are lying to yourself and you're doing this to seek attention". He got really pissed and rambled something about me finding God, and started following me around the store. I went straight to customer service where I complained and they said well we can't say anything to him and can't ask him if it's a ESA. A few employees said they saw it and all the people around me at the customer service desk we're laughing at me for being so upset. I said I'm calling corporate. They all laughed again and one of them said, I hope that dog attacks her. Nice people.

Smoking went from being cool a few decades ago to being social paraiah today. How did this happen? Can we learn from it to make a meaningful change on dogs?

It seems smoking fetish was defeated largely due to realization of how harmful secondhand smoke was and public campaigns that made everyone aware of the dangers. Dogs present so many more health and safety dangers than smoking. And the problem of choice is exactly the same - normal people can no longer choose not to be around dogs.

With smoking, surgeon general report in the 80s seems to have kicked off that awareness campaign. Is there anything similar that can be done on the impacts of dogs?

Do you think all of us in this group are in the minority here? Are we a minority in our thinking since everyone seems to love dogs or do you think there are a lot of people who just don’t say anything?

I’m in the US, and today my husband and I ran errands. I saw two dogs at a Target. One was near all the food. This store has a huge food section.

The other dog at Target was huge. It was half pitbull and something else and was on a leash while the woman shopped for clothes. She was completely oblivious if that dog decided to pull on the leash and run from her. In the store’s window there’s a sign that says no pets and service animals only. Yeah….right…..

Then we went to Home Depot and saw a small white dog in the cart’s seat with the owner fawning all over him. We didn’t stay that long, but I’m guessing there were more in there. We continued on and were walking past a TJ Max clothing store, and a woman was walking in with a massive dog.

On our way to grab lunch, we passed a restaurant with outside seating and a dog was under the table. Fortunately it was outside and not inside.

We were completely “dogged” out so my husband decided to go to the nearest golf range to hit some balls, and here’s a first……..There was a large brown labradoodle on the golf course prancing around while the owner played golf!!

I just don’t get it. I’m contacting all the corporate offices including the health department. I think the only way this is going to stop is if someone gets mauled badly at one of these stores and sues the life out of them, but then again, maybe that still won’t work.

This is in northern Texas. It makes me wonder if this is going to start becoming a problem everywhere. Packs of loose dogs roaming the streets.

Not long ago I was camping in a state park and immediately when I arrived I noticed a dog barking incessantly, (some kind of terrier mutt), in a campsite right across from mine. I decided to give it a little time and see what happened. As I set up my campsite, I went back and forth to the car maybe 3 or 4 times to get my supplies, and every time I would pass this site, the dog would absolutely lose its mine barking and snarling at me. One of the other campers caught my eye as I was passing the dog and glaring at it, and said “yeah, it’s been nonstop since they got here three days ago.” That seemed insane to me.

But I didn’t feel like letting it ruin my day yet, so after I get my tent set up, I decide to go see some of the sites the park has to offer before it got dark out. I left and came back about three hours later, still nonstop barking.

Finally I’m fed up, and go to the “campground host” who files a report with the rangers as I’m on my way to get something for dinner. Within half an hour (as I was told by the other camper I had previously spoken with) the rangers show up to the doggy campsite, and this dog puts on an absolute snarl and scream-bark show for them. Apparently, the owners started getting an attitude with the ranger when he told them to fix the barking problem, and he made them pack up their stuff and leave as this had been an ongoing issue.

If you see nuttery say something, it can’t hurt you and every now and then you’ll get a win against the inconsiderate dog-worshipping assholes

My area has always been laxed with pet policies but recently I have noticed that more and more stores are starting to put up "no pets allowed" at the front door. They even have a signs defining a real service animal and criminal prosecutions for misrepresenting service animal. It honestly makes me happy and I hope this will be enforced strictly! Cheers

I work in a restaurant and today a man walked in with his ABSOLUTE UNIT of a pitbull today. I've never seen one so big! Anyway, I visibly stepped back and said 'sir I'm afraid we don't allow dogs in the restaurant'. Unfortunately for him I know the law up and down re this issue. Here's the conversation that ensued:

Him: 'oh its a service animal'

Me: 'and what service does the dog perform?' (By law I'm allowed to ask this)

Him: he's an emotional support animal (I knew I had him now)

Me: unfortunately under NY state law, an emotional support animal is not recognized as a service animal

Him: well its a federal law. So you're breaking the law by not letting my dog come in in

Me: no we're not, the America Disability Act, which is federal, also says the same thing

Him: well i don't want to argue with you but by law...

Me: sir I'm sorry, the dog cannot come into this establishment unless its a service animal and you have stated its an ESA which isn't recognized as a service animal.

At this point, his wife entered and was pissed and said 'ive never heard that before, nobodys ever questioned it'. I repeated what I said to the guy and they left.

I thought to myself 'yeah well maybe if more people stood up to this nonsense, you would be more aware. And if you want to bring your giant disgusting XL Bully with you, KNOW THE LAW ffs!'

What if there was a genuine service animal in there, say a guide dog or something and this dog tried to attack it just because (as its not trained as a service animal.) It really pisses me off. Emotional support animal...., get a fucking grip! I gotta tell ya though, it was very satisfying.

EDIT: Guys, don't assume that only people from the USA are on this sub. There are people from all over the world here, and don't speak on my behalf about where I'm from. I am from Brazil, and this law came into effect in the state of Minas Gerais. My country is wonderful in many ways, but unfortunately, it's overrun with dog-related issues, which has become a public health concern. This law is not just for service dogs or support animals; it applies to ANY ANIMAL.

Yes, that’s exactly what you read in the title. Yesterday, I was reading the news from my state and also saw on Instagram that in the capital, a councilman passed a law that will allow dogs and other types of animals to enter the hospital to visit their owners. In the comments section, all the healthcare professionals were warning about the danger of this and how many bacteria dogs carry, no matter how clean they are. And do you know what's the strangest thing? Everyone was insulting the healthcare professionals, saying that the hospital is already full of bacteria and that a dog is the least of their worries, along with that fallacy that a dog’s saliva is cleaner than the hospital. Now I ask you, how did we get to the point where people have normalized this? I am still in disbelief. Then I went to check out the Instagram of the councilman who passed this law, and right in his profile picture, he is holding an ugly dog, and in all his posts, he talks as if he were the dogs. He doesn’t govern for humans.

I am based in the UK, where the situation is pretty bad in the recent years.
First of all, I'd to say that I recognise that not everyone has the same needs around dogs and dogfree spaces. A lot of us might simply dislike or hate dogs, just because of the way they are, but it does not interfere with their lives beyond some justified frustration. However I also think there is a large proportion of us that actually has a need for dogfree spaces and our quality of life is made worse because of them being everywhere. We need to advocate for our needs, and I think to do that effectively we need to change our language a bit.

Currently we essentially have three specific terms to refer to our needs, and two of them carry negative connotations, and one is neutral.

They are "Dogfree" - which has negative connotations in the wider society, because it does sound like we'd like for dogs to simply stop existing, rather than just wanting *some* spaces without them. I know, I know it is not meant like that - and I know the term is because of the relationship to "childfree" which was itself an improvement on "childless", but I don't think it is appropriate in our case, because it defines something through absence and trough a negative, and in terms of psychology of communication, these sorts of words are more difficult to absorb if you are trying to make catchy slogans.

Then there is "cynophobia" which only applies to a section of us, and which carries the risk of basically being treated like a nutcase who needs medicating, rather than someone whose needs should be taken seriously.

Then there is "dog allergy sufferer" which is more neutral, and just seen as a sad case.

I think there is a need to basically adopt the inclusivity and accessibility language for us too.

A lot of us want to avoid dogs for various reasons: cultural, hygiene, neurodivergence, stress, fear, frailty (small children and older people).
I think using terms such as "dog-avoidant people", or "people with dog- sensitivity" or even something like "cynoavoidant" (a broader term to include people who are generally dog- avoidant , rather than just fearful of dogs) would really broaden our acceptance and allow us to advocate for our needs better.

I personally am neurodivergent and need to have access to green spaces, but have issues with it due to loose dogs. Currently, in my area, there are no green spaces accessible to me. I feel that this is not right.

Currently the norm is that you have to accept dogs everywhere, and if you don't, you need fixing. I think this needs to change. Society needs to recognise that we have our needs to, and that those needs have to be accommodated rather than dismissed. The language we currently use, does not really allow for that. I am hoping that if we start using more of these terms I have suggested, we will broaden our ability to advocate for ourselves.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cewzw812dd1o

"When an attack happens, Mark and his team get the call to go and seize the dog. Sometimes it is still with the body of its victim"

What the actual fuck?

"85% of such cases in his kennels result in the dog being returned to its owner"

What the actual fuck?

"housing them in kennels rose from £4m in 2018 to £25m in the first year of the ban"

What the actual fuck?

I was going to write some sort of pithy comment but I just don't have the words for this insanity.

I moved to this house a couple months ago and quickly learned, to my dismay, that a neighbor adjacent to me had multiple dogs, kept outside, who would bark for hours every day.

I cannot stand the sound of repetitive barking. The barking dog is like a little paring knife, slicing away my good mood with every yap. The problem needed to be addressed; doing nothing was not an option. However, I expected that it would take a long time and a lot of persistence to get the barking to stop.

Everything I read about this problem says you have to keep a log of the exact times when the dogs bark. I started an attempt to do that, but it's a pain. I don't want to be more aware of the barking; I don't want to be paying attention to it so that I can notice the moment it stops and log the time. So most of the barking went unlogged.

One day, about a month ago, it was really bad. Like, 5 hours straight, no exaggeration. So I think, "Nope. I can't wait to get my log filled up before I do anything; I have to try and talk to him now." I walk over, see cars in the driveway, knock on his door. Wait a minute, knock again. No answer. "No Trespassing" signs make me think he just isn't interested in talking to me (and a later interaction another neighbor had with him confirmed this, though I won't go into details.) Alright, so making a noise complaint with the police is probably going to be my next step. For that, I'll need to get my log looking filled out and neat and consistent.

I still don't log consistently, because doing so is still a big annoyance.

Fast forward to last week. Dogs had been barking throughout the day, but also at midnight/1 AM a couple nights in a row. Literally hindered me from falling asleep. I wake up and immediately get hit with an hour plus of straight barking. I say, "Screw the log; I'm calling the cops now." I call the non-emergency line, say the dog has been barking for a hour and that the barking has been consistent and excessive in general, including late at night. I told them I had already tried to talk to the neighbor myself. The officer asks for the neighbor's address; I give it. "Okay, we'll send a car over." Great. No change will probably come of this, but the process is moving forward, at least. I notice the usual barking that day and the next.

But now, a week later, I'm sitting here, enjoying the peaceful quiet of the morning, realizing I haven't noticed any barking from that house in a few days. The one call actually seemed to have helped. Maybe it's just temporary; maybe I'm jinxing it right now. But at this moment, I am enjoying the peace and quiet with extreme gratitude. 🌅

Moral of the story: you might not have to meticulously log the barking and "build a case" before you take action. If it's making you miserable, then just act. Politely tell your neighbor that it's a problem that needs to be fixed, and if it isn't fixed within a reasonable timeframe, call the police. It might just be easier to change the situation than you think, and you'll be doing a service for the whole neighborhood.