Not-a-Service-Dog at Family Dollar

Today at Family Dollar, the cashier commented on how well-behaved Isaac was and then went on to tell me that they recently had a man come in with a dog he said was a service dog but they knew it wasn't. They knew his dog was not a service dog, she said, because of how it was behaving (and they are used to seeing Isaac in the store so they know how a service dog should behave) and because the dog was not on a leash. The man was on one side of the store and the dog was wandering around on the other side.

I explained to her that the Americans with Disabilities Act says a service dog has to be on leash except if it must be off leash to do a task, and that even then, the handler should be right there and the dog should be under the control of the handler. I wanted to make sure she knew what the law says.

She said the manager was worried the man would "get nasty" if they asked him to leave but she told the manager if that happened, they could just call the police. I told her that the ADA absolutely says they can ask someone to remove their dog if the dog is not under control and asked her what happened. Well, they told him the dog had to leave and he just left. They did not need to call the police.

I am so pleased they handled that well and I was glad to have the chance to just make sure she knew that the law was on their side.