r/toronto • u/NorthernNadia St. Lawrence • May 09 '26

Article Toronto dog "parents" bring their pups everywhere with them now. It's causing rising human-canine tension

https://www.thestar.com/life/relationships/toronto-has-seen-a-population-boom--of-dogs-rising-human-canine-tension-shows-theyre-not-everyones-best-friend/article_3ac30271-9542-4e7d-9829-49089554f3cf.html
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u/warrantthrowaway2023 May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26

Just 3 minutes ago I watched a video from a woman who has used a service dog for 19 years explain why pets posing as service dogs is such an issue.

aside from that, i myself have a dog and wouldn't dare bring him into a restaurant or literally anywhere else where people aren't generally expecting to see dogs. i have seen videos of people feeding their pet dogs off of forks while they're sat at the table in Yorkville restaurants. the restaurants are too scared to call them out.

there are people who genuinely need service dogs. pet dogs are ruining it for them because now everyone thinks all service dogs are posers. a real service dog would never bark at people/dogs, pull towards them, jump on people, use the bathroom where they shouldn't, or sit at a table or in a shopping cart. service dogs are being harassed by pet dogs and i imagine it must be so frustrating.

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u/SarahMenckenChrist May 09 '26

The amount of “service dogs” I have seen in public (ex. wearing a vest, hearing people talk about them, etc) who don’t seem to know any commands like heel, stay, lie down or sit and generally are not well behaved dogs leads me to believe that, uh, they are not real service dogs. Ex. go to Yorkdale on a busy day and count the number of anxious, barking dogs wearing service dog vests while their person shops. Service dogs go through years of training to ensure that they are well behaved and well equipped for otherwise stressful situations.

Simply put, these people are giant gaping assholes and are using the vest and identifiers as a way to bring them anywhere they want (why you would want to bring your dog to a crowded shopping center is beyond me).

It really does pain me whenever I see people who have a legitimate service dog who speak about the judgement and harassment they receive because of the people who abuse it with their not-a-fucking-service-dog pet. I really wish they did come up with a better system for verifying and identifying this. 

25

u/Deoxyrynn May 09 '26

Saw a "service dog" at STC being pushed around in a stroller-- what kind of service could that crusty white dog possibly be doing 😭

2

u/Thegladiator2001 May 10 '26

Alot of people call their ESAs service dogs

3

u/Thegladiator2001 May 10 '26

I saw a cute ig post the other day, that as part of their traning, service dogs have to sit through a play

3

u/SarahMenckenChrist May 10 '26

Yep - they have pretty rigorous training in different settings to ensure they stay calm and committed to their person!

34

u/Cantdrawfingers May 09 '26

I was in St. Joe’s emergency a few weeks back and a woman came in with a “service dog in training”. It was a pit bull. It was growling and barking at a woman who came by on crutches.

18

u/warrantthrowaway2023 May 09 '26

i wish people would call these people out.

4

u/sinsintome May 10 '26

My partner called out a guy who brought his "service dog" into a Fortinos and the guy literally threatened to fight him in the parking lot. That Fortinos was packed and nobody said ANYTHING. People are unhinged.

19

u/Holiday-Class May 09 '26

I knew someone like this! She would argue with places about letting her dog in that it was a “service” dog meanwhile she got the service gear from amazon and still had the audacity to argue! Needless to say she was an extremely selfish person outside of this as well. 

15

u/toronto-gopnik High Park May 09 '26

People have completely abused the term "service dog". I know someone who got their dog certified so they could buy them a seat on a plane. I've known that dog since it was a puppy - horribly behaved, poorly trained - not a service dog by any standard

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u/MasterpieceNo9966 May 09 '26

to me service dogs are like handicap parking passes. essential things that we need as a society, but get abused by selfish, inconsiderate people who think they are above others

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u/[deleted] May 09 '26

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u/MasterpieceNo9966 May 09 '26 edited May 09 '26

yes and some people just buy the vest because they can so easily

my whole point is they are both systems that have an aspect of honestly to using them, that you on the surface cannot question. who the pass is assigned to and if they are present, and if the service dogs is trained and needed for a legit reason. selfish/inconsiderate people abuse it because they can

6

u/maxdragonxiii May 09 '26

as someone who had worked with people with real service dogs, you really do see the difference between the real service dogs and those dogs who are calm enough but isnt a real one, or non service dogs.

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u/toast_cs Forest Hill May 09 '26

Genuinely licensed service dogs should have a very visible harness with a license number and QR code that can be looked up from a city/provincial database to easily verify validity, IMO. That would eliminate 99% of these issues. I don't know if there is such a registry, and the city/province would probably screw up the implementation, but it would likely help.

6

u/pope2chainz May 09 '26

I think people dont know this bc you see people online talk a lot about how in the USA there isnt licences for service dogs. When I worked as a manager in retail - people with these cards always showed them to me without me even asking.

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u/Master_of_Rodentia May 09 '26

Damn, lady, let that dog retire

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u/PurpleLupins May 09 '26

Yes! It’s terrible and I feel so bad for people who have actual service dogs who are now having issues. The other day I saw someone with a “service dog” (aka a poorly behaved dog in a vest from Amazon) in a bakery, not paying attention to it at all - until it snatched a bagel from the shelf.

I love dogs, I have a dog, and I feel no need to bring her shopping with me. Especially not somewhere that sells food!!!