Important Story About Respecting People With Service Dogs

Author image for Ellie Dunn
Ellie Dunn
Jan 2, 2022 5:00 PM EST

A woman recently blew up on Twitter after telling a story about a very shocking incident that occurred while she was in public with her service dog. While trying to do grocery shopping with her service dog in tow, somebody approached her and asked to pet her service dog. She said no, as petting a service dog on the job can distract them, and the man grew visibly upset. In fact, he then refused to leave.

Service dogs do so much for our communities, and so even though service dogs are absolutely awwdorable, we make sure not to interfere with them doing their job by playing with them, petting them, or distracting them. Unfortunately, not everyone has taken the time to learn more about service dogs (although it's never too late to start). Read on to learn more about how to be a positive ally to people who use service dogs, and also to hear the end of this woman's story. 

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to start your Caturday with the funniest felines on the internet!

Add as a preferred
source on Google
Advertisement
  • 01
    Dog - Dr Amy Kavanagh @BlondeHistorian I'm a blind woman who is exhausted by men behaving inappropriately around me & my Guide Dog. A man asked if he could pet Ava. When I firmly but politely said “no she's working", he decided to right stand next to me in silence for over a minute. It felt so threatening. 1/
    via @BlondeHistorian

    Wow, that's so rude of him! No one should feel unsafe while pursuing the grocery store, let this be a reminder to all of us that respecting people with disabilities as well as their service dogs is so important. This is a great opportunity for us to learn even more about the subject. 

  • 02
    Font - Dr Amy Kavanagh @BlondeHistorian I'm pleased when people ask before touching, but when I say no, this hostile response is so common. It felt threatening because most people say "oh ok" & either leave or ask questions about Ava which I am usually happy to answer. Standing next to me in silence is frightening 2/
    via @BlondeHistorian

    Wow, it's so sad that people touch this woman's service dog without her consent. Like we said before, while service dogs are working with their vests on, they need to stay focussed, and trying to pet them or play with them can be dangerous or harmful to the person that these dogs serve. What an important lesson. 

  • 03
    Font - Dr Amy Kavanagh ... @BlondeHistorian It felt like this man was calculating whether or not to be aggressive or violent towards me. He left because he probably concluded that the supermarket was too busy with too many witnesses. I felt safe because Other Half was at the checkout & was in earshot. 3/
    via @BlondeHistorian
  • 04
    Font - Dr Amy Kavanagh @BlondeHistorian Why did I feel frightened by a man standing next to me in silence? Because as a disabled woman I know certain men do not like it when I assert my physical boundaries. I've experienced abuse & physical violence in response to a polite no. He did not like that I said no to him 4/
    via @BlondeHistorian
  • 05
    Font - Dr Amy Kavanagh @BlondeHistorian Before Christmas I said no to another man who wanted to pet Ava. It escalated into him screaming abuse, threatening to punch me & kick Ava in the head. Because of a polite firm "no you can't pet my guide dog". (Yes, we reported it to the police, nothing has happened) 5/
    via @BlondeHistorian
  • 06
    Font - Dr Amy Kavanagh @BlondeHistorian So if a disabled person, especially a woman, says no, if they assert a boundary & if they are alone, don't stand next to them in silence afterwards. Even if you don't have unpleasant intentions, we've experienced this situation escalating too many times. It's frightening. 6/
    via @BlondeHistorian
  • 07
    Font - Dr Amy Kavanagh ... @BlondeHistorian And the saddest thing about this encounter. It helped for Other Half to see it. He has a growing understanding of the daily aggression & behaviours I deal with as a blind woman when he isn't there. He even clocked the bloke being creepy & was heading over as the guy left. 7/
    via @BlondeHistorian
  • 08
    Organism - Dr Amy Kavanagh @BlondeHistorian I'm safe at home. I'm managing the edges of a panic attack. @GuideDogAva is on mental health cuddle duty. She's brought me her moose, bouncy snake & stick just in case. I'Il be ok but it's just so exhausting, it never stops. 8/
    via @BlondeHistorian
  • 09
    Font - Dr Amy Kavanagh @BlondeHistorian It's also worth saying, that as per the photo, Ava was lying under my legs. If I had said yes, he would've had to reach under my legs to pet Ava. It's not cool to ask to pet a working dog, but it feels extra inappropriate to ask if you can go under a woman's legs to do it 9/
    via @BlondeHistorian
  • 10
    Rectangle - ThunderRatz @thunderratz Replying to @BlondeHistorian and @GuideDogAva I'm so sorry this keeps happening. No one is entitled to do what they want to someone else when they've been told no. I'm so glad this time you were in such a public place and weren't alone.
    via @thunderratz
  • 11
    Font - Dr Amy Kavanagh ... @BlondeHistorian Replying to @EmofJohnson I encourage active bystander techniques like "distract" so in this case coming over to say “hi, sorry do you know which aisle the jam is in?" Because that gives me an out. I can walk off with you & the perpetrator knows they've been seen.
    via @BlondeHistorian
  • 12
    Font - Stephen Anderson @saj_anderson Replying to @BlondeHistorian I hate men that do this. As one myself, I'm so sorry this keeps happening. All l'll say is this - there's a big difference between a man and a gentleman; this 'man' is not the latter.
    via @saj_anderson
  • 13
    Font - Theresa Higgins @theresahiggins Replying to @BlondeHistorian How awful. I have several friends with guide dogs. When I am with them , I have spent time explaining to people 1) no you cannot pat the dog 2) do not let your children pat the dog 3) please do not get close to the dog 4) this is to taxi drivers: it is a working dog.
    via @theresahiggins

    Can't get enough of ICanHasCheezburger? Then you're in luck because we're now on Instagram! 

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

dogs informative twitter dog memes storytime true story service dogs doggo tweets animal tweets
Scroll Down For The Next Article