"Service Dogs"....

[flowerseverywhere]

I saw a dog the other day in the grocery store sitting in the basket. People put food in the basket where the animal unwashed behind was.

At Farmers market on Saturdays, which is very crowded and on blacktop, many people bring dogs. I feel so bad for them, being jostled in crowds with their tender paws on hot blacktop. Plus unless a dog is well trained they are a tripping hazard and they are pulling on their leashes or trying to get to other dogs. It makes no sense at the least, and is cruel at times when it is hot.

I am am very allergic so when dogs approach I ask people to keep the animal away from me as I am so allergic. The other day a lady said to her dog”that’s ok fluffy, don’t mind her, I love you”. Idiot.

[flowerseverywhere]

I'm not aware of when "service animals" became a thing. I see a lot of ads for people looking for housing that mention they have a service dog.

I think you can’t discriminate against a person with a service dog when renting an apartment. Personally if that is so I would ask for thousands of dollars deposit for possible damages and big upfront cleaning fee if I did not want renters with pets.

[CathyA]

Well, not to get "political".......but in this country, everyone has the idea that THEIR wishes and desires, and THEIR freedoms are their birthrights.
Don't get me wrong.........I think it's appropriate for truly disabled people to get a little extra help.........but it can be so easily abused.
I am flabbergasted that you can actually buy those "Service Dog" vests on line, no questions asked.

[Teacher Terry]

I am super allergic to cats so if I see one seated near me I just ask to be seated somewhere else. I think one reason so many people are flying with a vest for their dog is because the airlines kept increasing the price of having your pet fly in the cabin. We used to take our small dog when flying to see my Mom and in 2009 I was paying 125 each way for the dog to be in a small bag under my seat and it counted as my carry-on. Also yo have to take your dog to the vet and pay for a health certificate. Then if you stay more then 10 days you have to pay another vet to get a certificate to fly home. It gets expensive fast. So if you have a well trained small dog that will just sit on your lap for free that is what people are choosing to do.

[Zoe Girl]

Yes a huge issue for me. My former MIL had a 'service dog', untrained and ill-behaved. I didn't even want my children around it. One of their dogs licked my daughter when she was a toddler and her face swelled up and had hives. Turns out the dog had been eating grass and weeds, then she is also allergic to dogs, so massive allergy attack. There were years when I was still around them when we had dog issues ALL the time, like they wanted the kids to spend the night ding but then wouldn't do a deep cleaning for allergies, or they brought the dog over to our no-pets according to lease apartment.

My former MIL says she needs the dog to carry things because she cannot carry over 5 lbs due to fibromyalgia. I don't see that most of a woman's purse is really that necessary (unless she needs emotional support hoarding in her purse). However she didn't actually have the dog carry anything. This was 15-20 years ago, and I could see this exact problem happening. Meanwhile we had several service dogs come in to the banks where I have worked and they were amazing. I have a lot of respect for a service animal. We always asked if we could give them a treat or if they could be touched, sometimes the answer was no when they were working. I have never seen a real one snap or bark or jump,

[CathyA]

Yeah, I'm thinking a "real" service dog is easy to spot because they are so well behaved.

[Tammy]

I hate it when people act like my allergies are a choice. They think “allergy” means I don’t like their pet.

[Teacher Terry]

Definitely not a choice. I love cats but can no longer touch one or go to a house where one lives. I am also pretty allergic to some breeds of dogs. It is weird because we have 3 dogs.

[Yppej]

I saw a dog the other day in the grocery store sitting in the basket. People put food in the basket where the animal unwashed behind was.

Where does produce come from? Dirt. What can be walking around on the dirt at the farm? Wild animals. Not immunized domestic animals, wild animals.

I believe in the hygiene hypothesis.

[sweetana3]

Why does anyone expect a grocery cart to be anywhere near clean? Has anyone every seen one cleaned?

That is one reason why bags are provided in grocery stores to hold produce.

People put purses which might have been set on the ground in their carts, kids with perhaps dirty diapers, and other food containers which could have been handled my many other employees or customers, etc. They could have set leaking poultry/meat packages on the cart. Then all that food is set on the conveyor belt to the cashier and the belt can be seen to have all kinds of deposits on it. A bird could have even taken a leak on the cart while it was sitting outside.