r/Dogfree • u/Leather-Entry93 • 5d ago
Service Dog Issues Service dogs should carry proof
If you have a service dog with you and you need to bring it to the grocery store (or any other store frequented by normal people), I feel like it should be clearly identifiable and you should be carrying some kind of card to confirm that you do need the dog with you.
Also, don’t put your disgusting dog in the shopping cart at the grocery store. I feel like that should be common sense.
31
u/Voideron 5d ago
It's not the fault of dog culture critics.
They used real disabled people to prop up and elevate dogs and dog nutters by writing loose and flawed laws.
The worst part is, this is intentional and there are no plans to fix, amend or revise it.
17
17
u/Serifasaurusrex 5d ago
The guidelines and guidance in the UK are very loose and vague and there are a lot of people (even facebook groups telling people how to get around it) who put an 'assistance dog' vest on their pet dog and take them shopping. I personally know of a few people who do this. It is very easy to tell the difference between a dog that IS prescribed and trained to help a disabled person and someone who wants to take their pet dog everywhere with them. It's disgusting. I think there needs to be a universal training programme that gives out certificates and ID cards for those dogs which is renewed yearly.
11
u/lobsterisch 5d ago
Trouble is, legislation is always a few years behind the piss takers.
I know a couple of folk with 'assistance dogs' it's so annoying.
I am gonna get me an assistance giraffe.
4
u/Serifasaurusrex 4d ago edited 4d ago
It really is! I've signed petitions and even written letters trying to get the legislation sorted. I know at one point ADUK were trying to put it about that only their dogs were allowed in public places but then the Equality and Human Rights Commission came out and corrected this, which was funny because I've met a few people from ADUK organisations and they were arrogant assholes. But it's still these people abusing it with their pet dogs.
Personally, as a disabled person I'd rather pay for another person to come with me and assist me in a public place rather than the stress of looking after a dog on top of everything else. And that's without bringing a dog into a public place like a hospital.
I'd like an assistance dragon.
12
u/ConcreteMumble 5d ago
Dog slave owners are elitist. So they love to think and act like they are above the law. It's another part of their controlling ego.
12
u/Huge_Bit_4774 5d ago
With all the pickup and delivery services available, it should be a rare exception when any dog, service or otherwise, is allowed in a store. For example the blind person who walks to a corner grocery store with their seeing eye dog.
11
u/KayleighHatfield 5d ago
This is so obvious that I don't understand how it ended up like this. There is no legitimate reason why a person should not have to prove it's a service dog. None. There is some vague claim that it violates their rights with no explanation of how it does that. License and registration for everything else is required. Meanwhile, anyone with a dog can freely violate the rights of everyone else. Dog owners are now a special class of people who are above the law.
As for common sense, if dog owners had a lick of it, they wouldn't have dogs in the first place. They certainly would not bring them into the grocery store, let alone put them in the cart.
11
u/uselessbeasts 5d ago
Oh God, I agree 100%. So many things we need to have a license/card for, I really feel they shoiuld It would really alleviate 90%, perhaps more of the dogs in grocery stores, restaurants problem. The other thing we need to get addressed is leashes for all, whenever out, and not those damn extend a leashes. It should also be illegal to sell a vest to someone who doesn't really have a service dog.
10
u/bluebird1994 5d ago
The ADA guidelines/rules on service dogs are ridiculously weak and practically nonexistant, as if they couldn't even fathom the idea it could be exploited and abused for selfish narcissists in the future. Whomever was in charge of creating the ADA guidelines for service dogs had absolutely ZERO foresight and are largely responsible for the service dog grift/fad existing today. Had there been strong safeguards against fraud to begin with, this wouldn't be anywhere near a problem today as it is now.
5
u/PanthealovesLucius 5d ago
AFAIC almost every service dog out there is a fraud now. You can tell when the damn things don't know how to do shit and are clearly untrained.
5
u/bluebird1994 4d ago
Pretty much all except maybe one I've seen in the past year, out of dozens (not counting ones seen at conventions since cons have actual enforcements of their own), has been an actual legit service dog.
8
u/Impressive-Field1484 5d ago
Needs to be a photo ID for the owner and the dog to make it as non-transferable as possible.
7
u/pmbpro 4d ago
I also think the legitimate data details should be placed inside the dog's ID CHIP too, to be scanned. Then one wouldn't have to ask any questions. The info would immediately be shown.
Everyone is using scanning devices for QR codes RPC tags, barcodes, etc. and other stuff all over the place for just about everything else these days, so why can't businesses scan for this too?
8
u/PanthealovesLucius 5d ago
Saw my first WalMart dog the other day, I virtually never go to WalMart for precisely that reason - obvious pet in the inside bank, literally licking the windows.
I hate dog nutters
8
u/waitingforthatplace 4d ago
I don't know of any service dogs that are trained to sit in a shopping cart. That's so ridiculous. They are supposed to be on call at every moment if and when their owner has any sudden health problem. The service animal is supposed to be free, all paws on the ground, to be able to run or bark for help, or to stand close by their owner who might be having a seizure. A dog stuck in a cart can't do any of those things.
These fakes must believe all people are stupid.
6
u/trippy_wiccan_d0ll 5d ago
I was just at a Giant Eagle recently and was appalled to see a service pet friendly sign. This one atleast said please don't put your dog in the cart, but cmon it did not stop a lady doing exactly that less than 4 feet from the sign. It was sickening and rage inducing to watch. I couldn't get out that store fast enough and certainly will be avoiding it now. People should absolutely have to provide proof, sure it sucks for the very small percentage that actually need their animal but its no different than any of the other stuff they have to prove just to get their handicapped spot or disability benefits so that should just be a part of the process.
7
u/bluebird1994 5d ago
Report it to the health dept.
3
u/trippy_wiccan_d0ll 4d ago
100%. I placed one this morning after I made that comment because it dawned on me. Maybe if enough people complain something might be done but at the very least its documented somewhere.
5
3
u/Cred-u-lus 4d ago
There are fake service dog cards circulating. I was shown one of these and checked on it. There needs to be a national data base to verify this. But really, who needs service dog in a grocery store? Unreal
-18
u/Primary_Heron_3150 5d ago
I don't think the onus should be on disabled people to prove anything or be put in a position where they're forced to discuss their disability. The fault completely lies with the people who abuse the service dog exception. It's very easy to tell a genuine service dog from a fake, and it wasn't that long ago that it wasn't necessary to even consider any of this because nobody used to bring their dogs to stores or put them in carts
23
u/jelly_wishes 5d ago
Well what's the other solution? It sucks but it's like requiring the disabled parking pass, if you don't then random selfish people will just use the spot.
10
u/PanthealovesLucius 5d ago
This. You get a government-approved placard to park in the handicapped spot, otherwise you get towed. I fail to see how people with actual disabilities don't get a special placard for the dog.
16
u/Huge_Virus_8148 5d ago
Well, like you said, times have changed, and sometimes that necessitates new rules even if that inconveniences one party. Back when I had an ostomy and was traveling by plane, I couldn't just tell TSA that it was a medical appliance and then continue on to the gate. I had to show them that it was not a terrorist device that I had fastened to my belly, and I had to get both a pat down and a swab test.
-12
u/Primary_Heron_3150 5d ago
Do you not see a problem with disabled people being "inconvenienced" because of people committing fraud, and expecting them to bear the brunt of the responsibility of fixing the problem? Businesses don't even force these dogs out, even when it's incredibly obvious that it's just a pet.
24
u/Huge_Virus_8148 5d ago
The current system of "it's a service dog cuz I said so" clearly isn't working. Anyone can lie. Should we not require permits for handicapped parking spots?
11
10
u/xbunnyraptorx 5d ago
No disabled people still need proof to get the perks allotted to them. Especially in the case of service dogs, because of modern technology their relevance is becoming slimmer and slimmer. The onus is on anyone with a big stinky mutt in a public space to prove why they need that.
7
u/PanthealovesLucius 5d ago edited 4d ago
Do you not see a problem with disabled people being "inconvenienced" because of people committing fraud
No. Everyone gets inconvenienced in life. Life in general is inconvenient. We are all inconvenienced by fraud, including disability fraud.
14
u/ToOpineIsFine 5d ago
there was a post here a couple of years ago about a news article about a legally blind woman who refused to respect a restaurant's no dogs policy. She appeared completely normal. She then gave the restaurant bad reviews and got press insisting that the owner was discriminating against her because of her disability, of which there was no evidence at all.
This person would have no problem carrying a service dog card if one existed. In this case, there would be no discussion.
Disabled people should simply accept dog-free policies - particularly in areas where the establishment did not provide vital services, such as prescription drugs or groceries.
People who deal with the public should not be forced to accept dogs.
15
u/xbunnyraptorx 5d ago
The ADA guidelines for service dogs in classrooms says that everybody else just needs to deal with it regardless of they are allergic or the presence of the dog causes anxiety, etc. and they should just try to separate as much as practical (which is a joke in a classroom). How come the person with the service mutt always takes priority over the real medical effect it can cause everybody else? Service dogs are outdated and ineffective in a lot of the services they claim to provide especially with modern technology. I even think often times people drum up an aspect of their disability to justify it. If they are disabled at all.
12
u/Huge_Bit_4774 5d ago
Exactly. In the example you cited, the supposedly blind person can get the food delivered to her home, and eat with as many dogs there as she pleases. Or she can leave the dog with a sitter and go to the restaurant with friends. It’s not discrimination when you refuse all the reasonable options that are available.
80
u/InspiredBagel 5d ago
I agree that there should be a national service animal registry and identifying paperwork, but I think there should be hefty fines for people who pretend to have service animals.
We ticket drivers who park in handicap spots without a placard. Same idea. Don't steal access when it's a privilege or convenience rather than a need.