What You Don’t Know Can Kill Them

I don’t know the frequency of the incidents here in California, but I’ve noticed a trend on a Youtube channel of people recording harassment of themselves when they’re out with their service dogs.

It boggles the mind that those who would harass service dog owners can still miss the point of a service dog, with all the information that’s out there, and the special vests that they wear and the federal law that is written to protect their use in public places, etc.

So I thought that I’d just give my readers an etiquette cheat sheet with some explanation to make it easier for the layman who really doesn’t want to go digging through the law and then try to interpret its meaning.

1. Service dogs are allowed EVERYWHERE, with or without a leash.
2. They may need to be off leash since a leash can sometimes interfere with the performance of whatever tasks their owners need them to do.
3. You know it’s a service dog, when it’s paying close attention to its owner and no one else and not barking at other dogs.
4. Generally, they will be on the floor, but if it’s a small dog, it may be in a cart where it can’t get run over because……

THEY CAN COST UPWARD OF $25000.

2. You don’t have an inalienable right to pet ANY dog that you see, MUCH LESS A SERVICE DOG.

Here’s why trying to touch a service dog without asking first is BAD: