"Is THAT your service dog?" "Oh wow, what a beautiful dog, can I pet it?" "Be careful (insert kids name) that is a mean doggie and its going to bite you!" To my ALL TIME favorite...
" It must be so awesome to have a dog like that!"
Besides the dumb ass comments I get, not to mention the stares I have learned to take it all in good stride pretty much - after all people are just people and its not their fault they are borderline dumb asses. I think though my biggest pet peeve really is kids. Let me explain.
Kids learn how to behave around others through their parents, it is the parents job to educate kids that not EVERY dog is friendly, and not every dog is one that loves kids-not to mention HOW to approach a strange dog (if at all). It is sad that kids these days barely have any guidance, and that dangerous situations that can be completely avoided arise simply because the parents are ill equipped in brain matter to deal with it.
Recently I came across one of these geniuses in a phone store. Now my service dog is pretty mellow, in fact the vet always likes to bug me saying I must dope my dog because she is so good and mellow. Yet like all creatures she has limits, and I know there are those people out there that think a service animal should be able to take any kind of harrassment with good cheer but I am NOT one of those. Sorry if you think that your dog can be harrassed, sat on, poked and prodded by a complete stranger is OK, well I feel bad for your dog.
Anyways, as I sat waiting for the sales rep, a little girl around 6 (maybe 7) comes right up to my dog and starts immediately petting her, I mean really going at it to the point that my dog was starting to stress out. She was being poked, touched near the mouth, stared into the eyes, to the point where I reached into my bag and pulled out a muzzle. The kid was relentless, coming back after I told her to stop, refusing to listen and the stupid people called mom and dad stood there with stupid grins on their faces like "oh isn't this cute!" NO THE FUCK IT ISN'T. It took about 20 minutes of me trying to shove this kid off my dog, telling her to pretty much go away and the parents to FINALLY notice that this WAS NOT CUTE. Heyoka was at this point at her breaking point, I could see it in her eyes and her body posture...she was trying to signal - I got the message and the last time the kid tried to approach Heyoka barked.
Looking back what could I have done different?
If I had to do it all over again I would have been more vocal, less polite and done everything in my power to tell those parents their kid would someday get bit because they didnt educate her that its NOT OK to walk up to a dog, stick your face in its face and try to pet the dog in the mouth. I think looking back I was so stressed out of the situation because I was worried that Heyoka would react negatively that I was focused on her too much (she has never bitten anyone but a dog is an animal and your stupid if you think NO dog is beyond biting) instead of yelling like a madwoman to get their kid off of my dog.
Service dogs are animals first...they have certain tendencies and natural self preservation built in to avoid death, discomfort and pain. As a service animal we train them to put these basic instincts of self preservation aside and accept the fact the world is a happy go lucky place where nothing bad happens. And it works for the most part, I see well behaved dogs in stores, resturants and more being quiet and unintrusive while working. My own dog works extremely well in the public attending my doctor's appointments, shopping, working, going out to eat etc-yet I am also aware she has LIMITS like we do and service animal or not if she feels threatened, perceived danger etc she may bark and even snarl to warn you off and away. It has happened maybe TWICE in our adventures out, and it takes her about 20 minutes to reach her point.
As her trainer and her partner I am very aware of this, as a person who has dealt with behavioral issues with dogs I am keen to the body language that says "mom I don't feel safe" and as her handler it is my duty to protect her from well meaning people who think it is OK to approach my dog because it is a service dog and well- all service dogs are friendly, go lucky puppies. What they DON'T realize is that by distracting her, stressing her out they make her job of notifying me of a medical issue secondary-which can become a life or death matter.
I know there are A LOT of people who DO NOT agree with my view, I have read countless of sites that train service dogs say a dog should NOT react, should be OK with harrassment, should never bark or show teeth, and if they do they are not suited for duty. In some cases I would have to agree, especially if the dog is being trained to go with a child to school and needs to tolerate kids, teachers, etc. My dog would fail at that task miserably because kids are a huge distraction and playing ball would send her into a play mode of epic porportions, Yet as MY service animal she is perfect, we don't deal with kids or interact with them on a level that another service animal may need to, she signals when its needed, she helps me up stairs if I require it and pretty much ignores EVERYONE when she is working. Its hard to snap her out of it (ask my doc- she tries to engage her every time we go,) because she is focused on her job which is me. When we walk, a cat can walk by and she will ignore it, when people call out to her "hey doggie" she refuses to look at them. Rude? No. Working ? Yes.
I just wish people would GET it and know that a service dog isn't a pet- it has a job to do and will do it just fine if you would just ignore them.
