Things Service Dog Owners want you to know.
What Should you do when you see a Assistance Dog?
You should well of course be polite to the service dog handler. But you should fallow these rules.
Do not pet the Assistance Dog
Do not distract the Assistance Dog in any way
Ignore the Assistance Dog entirely. You aren't being rude if you don't acknowledge the Assistance Dog presence
Distracting My Assistance Dog is Dangerous
When a assistance Dog has a vest on and is in public with it's disabled handler this means the assistance dog is working, even though it seems like it isn't. Don't distract it by making noises, offering food, water, toys or petting. This is because it can be dangerous to the disabled handler. This is especially important if the dog is a medical alert dog or a brace/mobility support dog, since both of these service dog's need to be on full alert for when there owners need them the most.
Assistance Dog's are like Medical Equipment
Service Dogs are like our medical equipment, just like a wheelchair and crutches or an oxygen tank. The Assistance Dog is medically necessary and anywhere in public medical equipment is allowed the dog is allowed. This includes restaurants, schools, hospitals, and work places. Even if the place has a no pets allowed sign, the service dog is still allowed to go into the public place, it's the law.
Sometimes The Assistance Dog Owner Doesn't Want to Answer Questions
Assistance Dogs make a difference in our lives and we always get asked a ton of questions about our assistance dogs.But we sometimes don't want to always answer questions about our Dogs.Please don't be offended if we don't want to answer your questions. Sometimes we just want to be like everyone else and run an errand at the grocery store and run back home.
