SERVICE DOG PSA

So today I tripped. Fell flat on my face, it was awful but ultimately harmless. My service dog, however, is trained to go get an adult if I have a seizure, and he assumed this was a seizure (were training him to do more to care for me, but we didn’t learn I had epilepsy until a year after we got him)

I went after him after I had dusten off my jeans and my ego, and I found him trying to get the attention of a very annoyed woman. She was swatting him away and telling him to go away. So I feel like I need to make this heads up

If a service dog without a person approaches you, it means the person is down and in need of help

Don’t get scared, don’t get annoyed, follow the dog! If it had been an emergency situation, I could have vomited and choked, I could have hit my head, I could have had so many things happen to me. We’re going to update his training so if the first person doesn’t cooperate, he moves on, but seriously guys. If what’s-his-face could understand that lassie wanted him to go to the well, you can figure out that a dog in a vest proclaiming it a service dog wants you to follow him

via

  • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    A woman once came to my place of work with a dog wearing an obviously fake service dog vest and patch. I know this for two reasons. One, the dog was completely out of control and yipping and scampering around all over the place and jumping on everybody, which is generally not service dog behavior. And two, once she learned the owner of our company had a dog she immediately launched into her sales pitch pushing him to buy her fake service dog patches, which she flat out admitted are for getting your dog into places it otherwise wouldn’t be allowed. I think this might have also had some kind of pyramid scheme aspect.

    “Did you know??? Businesses are not allowed to discriminate against you or your dog if it says it’s a service animal! It’s Federal law!!!”

    I threw her out. This made her very incensed.

    I told her in no uncertain terms that the only thing she’s accomplishing is training people – not dogs – that they can ignore legitimate service animals because they might be dipshit Karens like herself are going around with fake service dogs causing problems everywhere they go. I am positive she lacked the empathy or self-awareness to understand the harm that this could cause to someone with a real service dog who was in need of actual help.

    But she’s still banned. Too bad, not sad.

    • dohpaz42@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      I hope the owner had your back 💯 for what you did. People always trying to side-step rules and/or boundaries because they think they’re stupid or don’t apply to them are exactly what’s wrong with the world today.

      • dual_sport_dork 🐧🗡️@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        As Chief Executive Asshole around here, it is indeed one of my jobs to throw people out of the building when necessary. And also to tell self-important clients “no” when it’s appropriate.

  • iAvicenna@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    well my first instinct would be to pet the dog, hope the dog has more sense than me and can refuse the free pets

    • dohpaz42@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      It’s a shame they don’t put as much effort into educating the public on important things like this.

      • IninewCrow@lemmy.ca
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        3 days ago

        Yeah … instead of important even life saving information, we’re fed a steady stream of absolute nonsense and even information that is the opposite of a PSA.

        • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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          2 days ago

          Least you didn’t get traumatized by the ghost kid PSA we got about road safety.

          They literally had this whole story about a kid who’d been run over crossing the road and he’s now basically a ghost wandering around being sad about it. I think there was a train one as well.

    • Venator@lemmy.nz
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      3 days ago

      I would probably pet the dog for 10 minutes then go home and not remember until I see this meme again and then wonder if anything bad happened due to distracting the dog from finding someone actually useful 😅

      • AlwaysNurture
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        2 days ago

        Dog is hopefully trained to reject pets and get back to the goal at hand. Getting owner help.

  • stinky@redlemmy.com
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    3 days ago

    All I know about them is people screech and holler in public and online if you pet one.

  • BreadOven@lemmy.world
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    3 days ago

    What a cunt. I thought everyone knew this (to follow service dogs if they try to get your attention alone). Plus, why would you swat away any dog if it just wants your attention?

    • Optional@lemmy.worldOP
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      2 days ago

      Some people have bad experiences with dogs as tiny kids and it carries with them to adulthood. It can also be that people’s one-or-both parents don’t like dogs (probably for that reason) and teach that to them.

      Sad to go through life and miss out on that.

      • BreadOven@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Yeah. That’s a good point. But I really thought that most people knew about the service dog thing though. I guess that’s on me for assuming (you know what they say about that).

    • Akito@lemmy.zip
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      2 days ago

      Dogs are vicious, that’s why. Not even talking about the fighting dogs, which rip apart babies. I’m talking about small “cute” dogs, that bite girls and rip apart their toys for fun… Yeah, had that all happen to young women I got to know in my life and they are all traumatised.

      • BreadOven@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        *Some dogs. I agree it happens, but to say all dogs are is incorrect.

        Yeah, they rip apart toys for fun… because it’s fun (and inherited behavior) but the vast majority of dogs would never attack someone like that. Unless their person is in extreme danger or something.

        • Akito@lemmy.zip
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          2 days ago

          I wonder, if dog lovers here would be just as chill, if someone would respond something like “Yeah, we rip apart doggies for fun… because it’s fun”. :D

          • BreadOven@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            But they’re toys. Not other animals, or people. It’s an inherent trait. Any responsible dog owner knows this. My dog loves ripping apart some toys, but would never attack another human.

            Have you ever owned a dog?