All Eyes On You: Consider This Before You Get A Service Dog

Are you self-conscious?

Does it make you feel uncomfortable to know that everyone is noticing you?

If you answered “yes” to the above, think twice before getting a service dog.

Most people like to see dogs and notice them when they are around. Others are afraid of dogs and so they notice them when they are around. No matter how people feel about dogs, you will definitely be noticed in public spaces that don’t usually permit dogs.

So everyone who sees your dog will notice the dog. Some will smile. Some will yelp in a startled fashion when they see an animal coming around the corner. Others will coo, “awwww!” and you’ll hear a frequent refrain of “look, a service dog” and “mommy, a doggy!” echoing behind you wherever you walk.

A few will respond negatively. They may scowl, or pull their skirts away, or look frightened. Occasionally someone will challenge your right to be there and to bring your dog.

If this will add more stress and anxiety to your life than your service dog will relieve, then is it worth having a service dog?

The Ambassador

Not only are you going to be noticed, but you will be approached and spoken to often.

For those who are shy and find it hard to start a conversation, this can be a wonderful ice breaker. But for those who don’t like answering repetitive questions, it is a chore.

Yet you cannot be rude or hurtful, because you are also an ambassador.

Your dog may be the only service dog people encounter for days, weeks, or months. The way you and your dog make them feel will inform their opinions and attitudes about service dogs and their handlers, and will affect the way they interact with the next service dog team they meet.

So for the sake of every other service dog team, you cannot tell them to f*** off, even if you really want to.

For the sake of every other service dog team, you must ensure that your dog is clean and well groomed, and take responsibility for your dogs’ behaviour.

For the sake of every other service dog team, you must be agreeable and polite, even when your rights are being denied, and they will be at times.

Ignore Me Patches Don’t Help

Some service dog handlers put big patches on their dog, begging members of the public to ignore the dog and carry on with their day.

Sometimes that helps, but only with a certain subset of people – people who are educated enough to know that they aren’t supposed to bother service dog teams and only needed a reminder.

The majority of the public either isn’t close enough to read your dog’s vest or they don’t habitually read every sign they see.

Some have cognitive challenges like Alzheimer’s which prevent them from understanding why they shouldn’t stop the dog and coo at it.

Others have a naturally contrary personality and feel a strong urge to do the very thing they were told NOT to do, and so they come up to the dog and pat them anyway. 

We can’t control that. As members of the public, they have just as much right to be in this space as you do, and just as they must accommodate your dog, you must accommodate their peccadilloes.

That doesn’t mean you have to let people constantly stop you. But it means that you must decline to answer their questions or ask them to stop patting your dog in a pleasant and nonconfrontational manner.

It’s a simple fact of life that when you travel with a service dog, you will be treated like a minor celebrity. If that is not something you want, then you need to think seriously about that before deciding to get a service dog.

The Good News:

If you want a bright side (or a down-side for those who enjoy the mostly-positive attention), then I can at least reassure you that most people will not remember you.

You.

They will remember your dog. They’ll remember your dog’s name if you revealed it. They’ll tell people about it.

But they won’t remember YOU.

Someone who held a half hour conversation with you yesterday when you had your dog may walk right by you today without so much as a blink if they see you without the dog.

I have found that some people don’t even remember the gender of the dog’s handler, or their age. They were too busy noticing the dog.

So in a way your dog is a sort of shield, attracting attention away from you and toward themselves.

But since the dog can’t answer questions, people will address them to you.

Remember, be polite.

People are watching.