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DEFIANTELY!! I've had waiters and waitresses mouths drop open when my Service Dog has come out from under the table. Entire sections of a restaraunt get quiet except for an "It's A Dog!" most times pleasantly, but we have had the occasional, "It's A darn Dog" which sets my husband off with, "It's a darn Idiot". He is not as pleasant as I am with dealing with people who act like idiots.
I find these times out in public a great time to educate people on what dogs are able to do and how they save lives on a daily basis. I have found that our older citizens and teens to younger adults are more informed and accepting of Service Dogs than adults over the age of 30. I don't know why that is. Children just know that it is a dog that is friendly and they want to cuddle. If they are willing to ask me about my dog, I will let them, and talk to them and their parents about Service Dogs.
If you touch my dog without asking, I will rip you a new one. My dog could have been preparing to alert and you have just distracted them from their job. My dog is my left arm. You have no right to touch me! My dog is part of who I am. My dog will not acknowledge that you exist unless I tell them they are permitted to say Hello and if they don't wish to, I don't force the situation. A dog has a better read on most people than most law enforcement folks.
I don't believe a Service Dog should have to be certified. This is another factor that limits who could have a Service Dog. Who would do the certifying? The government? They can't figure out what they are trying to do themselves. The AKC? They believe my current dog should have been destroyed when it was learned that she was deaf!
Please know that I speak of Service Dogs because I have had no other experience with a Service Animal. I have heard of Service Monkeys and a Guide pony. I was told about the pony by a police officer who had seen it while working in NYC. Pony's live for a good 30 years, a dog for 15 if you are lucky. What I would have given for my girl, Spook, to have lived for another 18 years. But then again, I wouldn't have my Krazy Katie who runs around like a nut case until she puts that Service Dog Vest on. Then she is the ultimate professional even at 1 year old.
Wow you know absolutely nothing about Service Dogs. My dog is not my slave, my dog is my partner. My husband will tell you that Spook was my Soulmate. Katie is working her way in to her own part of my heart.
Both of my Service Dogs have been Aussie CattleDogs, aka Blue Heelers. These dogs MUST have some type of job or they can be very destructive. Doesn't matter if it's herding cattle, search and rescue or telling me if there is something around that is going to kill me. Both dogs have been trained with postitive reinforcement only. They do what I ask, they get a treat, to play with their ball, a good ol' fashion belly rub. Just as you see with officers with the drug and bomb sniffing dogs, when it's done right, it's playtime! And if you do it right, the job they do is playtime as well.
My dogs are better well taken care of than all of the kids in my neighborhood. They get the best food money can buy. My DH had special window tint placed on the extended cab of the truck just for the dogs. My dogs are known for their great behavior and friendliness.
But yet, they are still dogs. Katie is "that little CattleDog" from the dog park who loves to be chased because no one can catch her. She loves for her "Daddy" to play "airplane" as she hangs on to the rope of her jolly ball or wrestling with the neighbors foxhound when she goes off on a "playdate" How many people can say that the neighbor calls up and asks if you dog can come over to play with theirs? Spook on the other hand, didn't realize she was a dog. She was raised with cats and thought she was one. Either that or a human, which is what most of the staff at my school said about her. When the students were there, she was all business, when they were not, she was just one of the staff, except she played frisbee with the superintendant in the hallway of the school.
Slave no. Partner and trusted friend, yes.
