Service dogs aren’t like regular canines; they’re trained to do a specific job of assisting people with disabilities. That’s why they are allowed in shops or places where other dogs aren’t. The only problem is that this might not apply to private residences, especially if someone is afraid of them.
This is exactly what happened when a woman wanted to bring her service dog to her family’s Thanksgiving party, but wasn’t allowed to due to a scared relative. She felt so annoyed about it that she blew up at her dad.
More info: Reddit
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The poster shared that she and her service dog used to attend her family’s Thanksgiving until her grandma adopted an adult who was scared of dogs
The woman shared that she wouldn’t be able to manage without her service dog, which is why she had to skip the family event every time to cater to her relative’s needs
Instead of finding compromises for his daughter to attend, the poster’s dad told her not to come unless she could leave her dog behind
Eventually, the woman spoke to her dad about the issue, and he figured out a way for her to attend as long as the service dog stayed in the bedroom
The poster shared that since she was bipolar and often dealt with psychotic episodes, she needed a service dog for support. The canine, named Maggie, was trained for deep pressure therapy and could help the OP better than the weighted blankets or compression sheets that she had.
According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a service animal is trained to perform tasks that can aid with a person’s specific disability, and they are also allowed in almost all public establishments. They are not the same as emotional support animals, whose purpose is mainly to alleviate people’s mental health struggles.
To get a better insight into this situation, We reached out to Veronica Morris, PhD, who is the President of Psychiatric Service Dog Partners and has been using service dogs since 2005. She trained all of her service dogs herself, including her current fourth service dog—a Japanese Chin named Felix.
She explained that “this situation is unfortunately all too common for service dog handlers. We might need our dogs to attend a particular event, like a family function, holiday, funeral, or wedding, but our family is not always supportive of this.”
“Sometimes it’s fear or allergies to the service dog, other times they are worried about the dog stealing the spotlight, being a topic of conversation, or ruining the overall aesthetics of the event. The good news is that with clear communication, most of these situations can be resolved,” Veronica added.
The OP explained that she used to take Maggie everywhere she went, including to her family’s Thanksgiving parties, since nobody had a problem with the animal. Unfortunately, things changed after her grandmother adopted a 50-year-old adult named Barbara, who was scared of dogs.
The poster wanted to spend time with her family and felt bad about having to miss out on the Thanksgiving events, but her dad wasn’t helping her figure out a compromise to the situation. So, she had to keep missing the gatherings just to appease Barbara, because she couldn’t manage without her dog, Maggie.
Veronica told us that “under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), if someone has a disabling allergy or fear of dogs, both that individual and the person with the service dog must be accommodated. This is usually done by splitting the space between the two parties so that they can avoid each other.”
She added that “if I know I am going to be sharing space with someone who is allergic to dogs, I will make sure my dog is recently groomed, and all my supplies are freshly washed. There are even special sprays and shampoos that one can use to reduce allergens.”
Eventually, the poster couldn’t take being left out of her family events anymore, and she confronted her dad about his passiveness with regard to the situation. She also told him that if he could so easily put a random adopted adult’s needs over his own daughter’s, then he wasn’t fit to have kids.
Luckily, the man took the OP’s words to heart, and he found a compromise for both her and Barbara. He decided that Maggie could be allowed over, but that she’d have to be in the bedroom, which the poster was okay with.
Veronica Morris mentioned that “it helps for both parties to remember that the other person isn’t out to get them, but instead that we are both people with disabilities who deserve compassion and assistance.”
Do you have any creative solutions for how the OP could have brought her service dog to the events without Barbara freaking out? Do share them with us in the comments, and also what you thought of this story.
Most folks sided with the poster, but some felt that her family had the right to stop her from attending the gathering if Barbara was terrified of dogs
