It kills me how nasty people can be about this. The dogs are 'so cute' when you're out walking, but it's like as soon as they infiltrate "society" all courtesy goes away!! Robert is the service dog I'm currently training and he has tons of gear on and so do I. I've got paperwork that I carry with me ALL the time, and people STILL feel the need to ASK if he's a service dog...as if all the gear is just fake, and I have a uniform that I just wear because it looks nice!! And people aren't nice, they're always ALWAYS rude. I can count on my fingers how many nice people I've encountered. Every one of these employees and companies received a letter of appreciation from me, as well as a letter to the manager or employer saying what a great employee so-and-so was. Likewise, all the crappy places have had to deal with my wrath of anger and my lecture that I give when people start yelling. It's ridiculous. I don't understand why people can't ask. I have to say that when I add my yorkie, I'm going to try to take her everywhere in her carrier (not ever opening it in the store) but out of respect for the real service dogs out there, I would never try to pass her off as a necessity or make a stink about her not being allowed in someplace. The real service dogs, whether they're big or small or for whatever reason, are the life savers of many people out there, and if any of them go through the crap that I go through as a trainer, I'd hate to think of contributing to everyone's paranoia about dogs in the store. |