Artemis And Kye

Seriously people, no matter how cute the pup is, just IGNORE service animals. They are doing a job. Distracting them can actually be life-threatening. Their handlers just want to go about their day. Don’t use disability or disability aids (including service dogs) as conversation starters. And you can’t tell by looking if a service dog is assisting with anxiety, PTSD, or other conditions that would mean strangers approaching will have a serious negative effect on the handler.

IGNORE. IGNORE. IGNORE.

You can tell the difference because, at least with the registration service I use, service dogs wear green vests, emotional support dogs wear red vests, and therapy dogs wear gray vests. The dog’s job is also usually written on the vest. If the dog is in a public place where therapy dogs are not allowed, like an airplane or a store, then odds are they are not a therapy dog. 

Seriously people, no matter how cute the pup is, just IGNORE service animals. They are doing a job. Distracting them can actually be life-threatening. Their handlers just want to go about their day. Don’t use disability or disability aids (including service dogs) as conversation starters. And you can’t tell by looking if a service dog is assisting with anxiety, PTSD, or other conditions that would mean strangers approaching will have a serious negative effect on the handler.

IGNORE. IGNORE. IGNORE.

ignore service dogs. “I know I can’t pet it, so I’ll just say hi–” NO! do not wave at them, do not kiss at them, do not greet them, do not call out their names, do not distract service dogs in literally any way. leave them alone. 

They are trained to take orders and do specific tasks. If a human interacts with them, they try to focus on that because they’re taught to listen to humans.

If they’ve been put to guide someone somewhere, it can go as bad that the dog gets disoriented or forgets the task. That’s a danger.

If the dog is trained to track or notice something, like allergens or something to do with your health.. They might forget to take notice to this or get distracted to a point where they forget it.

It’s not just that it’s rude or a principle of “no touch” with no basis… You’re being selfish and you might legitimately endanger someone.

Dogs aren’t all just magical creatures that can keep to their tasks, and be cuddling machines at the same time. That’s not how things work.

I’ve had multiple kids grab my cane out from me in the same way they shouldn’t touch a service dog. I’ve also had adults grab and kick my cane out from under me knowingly (years ago an adult laughed after she kicked my cane out and I bit it).

My Service Dog got attacked. (Lend a hand?)

This is Gia. She is the sweetest, most loving service dog. She was basically retired, but still does her job occasionally. She got mauled by another dog about a week ago, and the image on the right is her now.  For More Images/Proof: Go Here *GRAPHIC*

Now, I’m not asking for anyone to cover her vet fees, or to help us put the other dog down. What we REALLY need, is some Pajamas for Gia. I have created a wishlist of Jammies for her. Now, you’re probably asking why she needs Jammies. She is a double coated dog, a chow chow. Without her coat, she can’t keep herself warm or regulate her temperature. And we live in Ohio, where it gets very cold. Our power has already gone out once this winter, Gia won’t be okay if she gets too cold. She can’t go outside, she can’t sleep, she can’t heal. These pajamas also help to keep the bandage on her neck stable, and keeps her from rubbing it off. She is bleeding, oozing over herself constantly, so we need a lot of pajamas to keep rotating them. They won’t just get used once, they’ll be used all winter and through the spring even! Until she is healed, they will be used and very appreciated. 

If you can’t help us by buying her some pajamas, can you please reblog this?  We got hit with $3000 of vet bills that we do not have the money for. And she is due for another surgery to remove the rest of the dead skin next week. 

Here are My Commissions if you can’t buy her one, but want to help! And Here is My Ko-Fi If you’d rather that. 

And HERE IS HER WISHLIST. 

Abled: (gasping) “Animals aren’t objects!”

Me: “Service animals are legally classified as assistive devices.”

hey! i was out with anubis yesterday and we got a lot more questions than usual. it occurred to me that most people don’t know how to interact with service teams, but do truly want to be respectful. here’s a quick guide for interacting with a service dog and their handler:

1. the dog is not there to entertain you. even if the dog is laying on the ground like anubis here, they’re still working. medical alert dogs like anubis are constantly watching and waiting to act, and their brains are always on. distracting them while they’re working can prove fatal for their handler.

2. this should go without saying, but don’t touch the service dog. don’t talk to, make faces at, or make eye contact with them either. don’t offer food or try to get the dog to sniff you. these are all incredibly distracting things! imagine if someone tried to touch you, call your name, or held food in front of your face while You were working. super distracting, right?

3. most handlers will not give out their dogs names while they’re working, for the reasons listed above. some handlers will even give a fake name for this reason. please don’t hound us about our service dog’s name.

4. unless you’re accommodating for the service team, just ignore the dog. accommodating may look like moving your chair so the dog can have space to lay at their handler’s feet, or stepping around them while they’re tasking, or helping the handler with rude management workers while they’re facing an access issue. if we need something, we’ll ask! but otherwise, just treat us like a normal person, and please don’t talk directly to the dog instead of their handler. it’s super patronizing and annoying.

5. legally, service dog handlers can only be asked two questions by EMPLOYEES of the ESTABLISHMENT they are entering. this does not extend to other customers. the two questions are, “is that a service dog?” and, “what tasks does your service dog perform?”. in my case, the answers would be “yes” and “medical alert, psychiatric, and mobility”. most handlers will Not go into more detail about their diagnosis. please do not ask why we need a service dog, because it’s incredibly invasive and most handlers aren’t willing to share why. medical history, because service dogs Are medical equipment, is a very private and oftentimes embarrassing thing.