Someone found my blog by searching for “does service dog’s
poop get picked up.” Well, hopefully it
does! Most places have laws these days saying
dog owners must pick up after their dogs and in a few places, service dog
handlers are exempt from these laws, but in most places, they also must pick up
after their dogs.
People with all sorts of disabilities can learn to pick up
dog poop. It might be challenging to
pick up poop when you can’t see it or when you sit in a wheelchair and can’t
bend over, but people do it. For
instance, a blind person typically knows when her guide dog is pooping. Guide dogs are often trained to poop on
command, and if you’re walking a dog and it stops and you feel the leash move
in a certain way, you might guess that your dog is taking a dump. You might also smell it. So a blind person has some idea where her dog
just pooped. She can stick her hand in a
plastic bag, feel around on the ground for the warm squishy stuff, pick it up,
and turn the bag inside out and tie it shut.
So, sorry to break it to you, but even if your dog is a
service dog, you still have to pick up poop.
I know, bummer, huh?
Actually service dogs and police dogs are exempt by state and federal laws. Odds are a blind person is not going to be able to figure out where the dog went regardless of what others are saying. And it so inappropriate for others to think they should feel around for it in the dark. Have woke compassion and use some common sense when it domes to the disabled. Why not offer to pick it up for them. After all you can see it. It not then leave the disabled alone.
ReplyDeleteNo, they aren't exempt. Please direct me to the federal and state laws (for all 50 states, please) that say they are exempt.
DeleteI know blind people that are able to pick up their dogs' poop. You don't think they can do it, even though they say they can and I've seen them do it?
If I was easily able to pick up dog poop, I would certainly offer to do it for someone that found it difficult due to a disability. Unfortunately, bending over is difficult for me. I have a hard time picking up my own service dog's poop. I can't pick up other dogs' poop as well. I don't expect people to pick up my dog's poop, though.
Like you said there's tons of different disabilities. So for you to say you can pick it up so everyone can is false. Not everyone can touch the ground let alone pick something up from it.
ReplyDeleteI didn't say everyone could pick up something from the ground. I said that blind people are able to pick up their dogs' poop. To be more accurate, perhaps i should have said that being blind does not prevent a person from picking up after their dog. A blind person might be unable to do it for some other reason, but simply being unable to see does not make one unable to do it.
DeleteIn addition, it is the responsibility of a person with a service dog to pick up after their dog. So if you can't touch the ground, you might use one of those pooper scoopers with a long handler. If you live in an apartment and can't pick up after your dog, you might negotiate with your landlord to determine a designated toilet area for your dog and then hire someone to scoop the poop for you on on a weekly basis (yes, you can hire a pooper scooper,many pet sitting businesses also offer this service).
If you are unable to pick up after your dog yourself, it will be your responsibility to make sure someone else does it. That's the bottom line.