- Two small kids pointed and squealed "Doggie!" (which I don't really mind, they were little kids)
- One woman asked to pet Isaac (while he was lying quietly under the table at Panera, no less)
- One man petted him without asking
- Four people told him he was a pretty doggie
- One woman asked me why I need a service dog
Sunday, March 24, 2013
All in a Day's Work
Today, Isaac and I went to Panera, the grocery store, and the library. And today:
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I would hate being different like that. I like being anonymous and ignored when I go anywhere and don't want any attention from anyone. It would hard for me not to lose my patience with this. Even cute little kids would be annoying after a while. The public needs to be educated to mind their business and not stare or comment or pet service dogs but in the mean time maybe you need to walk around with a big sign. People can be incredibly rude and ignorant.
ReplyDeleteI feel pretty tolerant with kids. To be honest, I have found kids to be much more polite and better behaved than adults. I have never once had a kid ask me personal questions about my disability. In fact, I've never had a kid pet Isaac without asking first. Kids often ask, but they do so politely. However, I've had adults pet his without asking many times and I've had plenty of adults ask personal questions about my disability. I thought about carrying a big sign. I could use it to smack people over the head when they ignore the sign and pet or otherwise bother my dog, which I'm certain they would do.
DeleteI love the thought of smacking people with a sign. How ironic that kids have better manners than adults. If someone asked me personal questions I would say its none of your business and walk away. Stupid people piss me off. I bet they stare a lot too. Stare right back.
DeleteThe staring doesn't bother me too much most of the time, although I do think it's rude. They are not looking at me so much as looking at Isaac, and I understand they are looking at him because they are surprised to see a dog in places you don't usually see animals and because people like to look at cute doggies. Plus I mostly just pay attention to whatever I'm doing and don't look at them, so I don't really see them staring. The personal questions bother me a lot more. I usually respond with something very vague, like if they ask me why I have a service dog, I say, "He helps me." If they go on to ask what he helps me with, I say something like, "A disability." They usually give up then because most people don't want to be too rude.
DeleteNow, if the owner or manager of a business asked a question about what Isaac does for me, I would be a little bit more forthcoming. By law, they are legally allowed to ask if a dog is a service dog and what tasks the dog is trained to perform. I would say something like, "He picks up things for me and brings me medication." They are not allowed to ask what my disability is, though.