Service Dogs: To pet or not to pet

How many of us have ever been out and about and observed a working dog in action? As dog lovers, our first impulse is often to show our respect and admiration by reaching out and petting these wonderful, selfless heroes or to verbally praise them--which is precisely what we should not do!

Remember, a service dog in harness is on the job and needs to focus on his or her duties.

Here are some guidelines to help you when in this situation:

Do not pet, call to, feed, or otherwise distract the dog
If you are in a car, do not honk or call out to the dog
Speak to the person and not to the dog
Do not touch the dog without first asking for and receiving permission. Always respect the handler's wishes
Out of respect for the handler's privacy, do not ask personal questions about the handler's disability
Remember that guide dog teams have the right of way

The Federal Americans with Disabilities Act and State Laws permit guide dogs to go anywhere the public goes. That includes movie theaters, churches, hospitals, concerts, buses and grocery stores.

Service dogs perform an invaluable service for their owners/handlers and deserve our utmost respect!

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Comments

“I have a card that is not an ID, but has the ADA laws about SD's printed on it. Also be sure to know your states laws, as all are different. I like that popele are finally saying don't pet the dog...tho I have found 1" letters aren't enough to get that point across.” — Michele, May 14 2009

“Did You know if you have more then two different type of disablities you can have two service dog out in public with you under American with Disablities Act They said you might have trained one dog for hearing, then later on you got other disablities so you need another service dog to do the other type of work for you. Don't let places tell you you can only have one service dog out in public, you are only allowed two service dogs out in public.” — SAM, Apr 20 2009

“Not all service dogs wear a harness when working out in public. To get a service dog law card go online to pup'parel to buy them. also it would be a good idea to buy the access required by law patch to have your SD wear when out in public.” — Pami, Apr 10 2009

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Service Dogs: To pet or not to pet

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