Not hung bothers me much more than the problems caused by the advent of emotional support animals. It's one thing when they are needed at home. I've had the support of my own beloved dog at home throughout the depression and anxiety of brain surgery and cancer.
But once it became 'fashionable' to take these animals along in public, things got out of hand. Social anxiety can be overwhelming-I know, I have it too. But I can exist in public without my dog by my side. And people have done it for all of history.
Service dogs, however, ate a different kettle of fish. The people who depend on them to survive are disabled. These dogs provide a service for them. The cost for a service dog is incredible, often as much as $35,000 if not more. They are trained to understand that they are working when they are in public and will not misbehave or interact with other people unless obtaining assistance for their person.
Remember when stores used to prohibit dogs unless they were service dogs? Now, because of emotional support dogs, employees are afraid to even ask anymore because people will argue and act offended just for being asked.
The problem is everyone's little pets aren't trained to behave in public the way service dogs are. Not two weeks ago I was at the grocery store and two different people had small dogs on leashes walking with them; the animals got into a confrontation that nearly turned into a dogfight.
If this kind of incident happens involving a service dog (with a pet attacking the service dog-a service dog won't attack other dogs), the service dog could be ruined for further service. It could become timid about public spaces. It caould become reactionary to other dogs and endanger the person it works for.
If that happens, the dog is now useless as a service dog and is just a pet. Tens of thousands of dollars are lost. The service side of the dog is irreplaceable. Most disabled people cannot afford one service animal, let alone two.
It is high time to begin enforcing both health codes, store policies , and and the law again . Animals that are not service dogs do not belong in the store and should not be allowed in them any longer. Disability advocacy is too important.
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