Public scrutiny

[responsiblek9]

having a service dog is like having a sign painted on ya. Many people seem to think a service dog is public property and think nothing of walking up and just petting the dog. Or even commiserating with your dog on how hard their life must be. Children will run up and drape themselves over the dog at random moments with little to no warning. And you have to peel the child off the dog without alarming the parents. Many parents think that if they gave the kid permission to go pet the dog that you dont have the right to tell the child NO.
 The other aspect is some parents think having you be the instant baby sitter because their child is fascinated with following you and your service dog. That it is ok and take great offense when you tel the child to go back to their parents.

 Teenagers and even adults may whistle at your dog to get the dog to look at them. Little caring that by doing so they are ditsracting the dog to where you could get injured. And people walking up and demanding to know what your disability is.... or tinking because you have a service dog they have the right to know your whole medical history.

 Then you have the people who ask you where you bought the gear/ harness the dog is wearing so that they can bring their pet inside a store.

 There is little anonimity when you have a service dog with you.  You will no longer be invisible. Going to church sometimes can be a challenge since some churches may balk at the idea of you using a service dog . Fortunately this is becoming more uncommon .
 Friends may ask WHY did you decide to get a service dog when you were doing just fine before? Some may even resent the service dog and refuse to let you come visit them at their house anymore... Citing allergies  hair or whatever..

 It is quite stressful to be under the microscope all the time . And this does not even bring up the embarrasment and agravtion of dealing with  the access right issues...

 Having a service dog is not a easy thing to do .  Many people get a service dog and then cannot handle the scrutiny ,questions , and people acting like you  have to be their entertainment committee. So they quit using the dog after a short period of time. This is not fair to the dog who was trained to have a very high work ethic and misses doing what it was trained to love.

 So be aware of the issues .