I view this whole thing through my own experiences...
I suffered through infertility for almost 10 years. If it weren't for our Border Collie, Willie, I think I would have been in the nuthouse. He was my strength, my companion, my comfort. He was my first 'baby'.
I've also raised service dogs and encountered prejudice when I had to take them into public places, even when they were wearing their vests and i.d. tags. I've seen first-hand the benefit these dogs give to the disabled and I was glad we could help in some small way.
The last service dog we had it was very hard to say good-bye to him. We became very attached to him and decided it was time to get a dog of our own. So now, along with my twin boys, we have Teddy, our little yorkie, and we love him so very much. He is our 4-legged baby. Though he could never take the place of my two-legged ones children, he takes up a huge space in my heart.
I don't take Teddy anywhere I'm not sure he's welcome. I don't want to take the chance of someone asking me to leave, or putting someone in an awkward spot. Sometimes I will ask at a store what their pet policy is so I know in the future.
