Service Dogs accessing public places
Service Dogs accessing public places can be quite an ordeal at times. Andrew & Motive recently experienced two incidents that were really anxiety inducing. Motive wears his harness at all times when he and Andrew are out together. There’s a Genesis Assistance Dog emblem and a “Service Dog Do Not Pet” notice mounted on the harness frame. They’re easy to read; Andrew’s altered gait is quite noticeable, as is his tight grip on the harness handle.
Andrew and I were trying to check into a hotel a month ago. The desk clerk demanded that Andrew supply ID for Motive that “certified” him as a service dog. If he didn’t we couldn’t check in. There was no reasoning with the desk clerk despite attempts to explain the ADA regulations and offering her their phone number to validate what we were saying. There is no such thing. Against his better judgment, Andrew offered for the hotelier to make a copy of Motive’s ID tag. We checked in for our stay.
The most recent incident happened we were going to the movies. The person in the ticket window would not sell Andrew tickets until she checked with a manager because she didn’t think dogs were allowed inside. The line grew as we waited for the manager who finally came and advised her to allow us to purchase tickets and enjoy our movie.
“So what’s the big deal?” you may be asking yourself. Why bother taking the time to write a blog about these incidents? Well, it’s a big deal for two reasons:
- It is embarrassing for the handler to be asked to provide documentation that doesn’t exist and for issues to be raised in public regarding their disability. Other patrons are already curious about the service animal and the staff member(s) questioning the disabled person causes that person to feel violated.
- What becomes more apparent every time we encounter a situation like this (and there have been many more than the two mentioned) is that we are becoming keenly aware that there has been no education provided to folks who interact with the public with regard to service dogs. That needs to change.
I’ll spare you the legalese, but I encourage you to click here to visit the ADA website specifications to learn about appropriate protocol for granting accessibility to people who are accompanied by their service dogs/animals.
