I Get No Respect
Dear Frankie,
I am a Chihuahua and a real working service dog. I’m not one of those make-believe emotional support dogs.
My mom has a hearing disability. She is not deaf like she can’t hear anything, but she does have a hard time hearing most voices and sounds.
Some of the services I provide are: alerting her to someone at the door, indicating a text has just pinged on her phone or motioning that someone is talking to her. I provide many more services, but you get the idea.
Here’s my problem: I don’t look like a service dog, and often people don’t treat me like one.
Let me give you an example; yesterday we were in the grocery store. My mom was driving a shopping cart, and I was sitting on her lap. My mom is not crippled, but walking isn’t easy for her. We were looking over the apples when a lady came over and started petting me, and before we knew it, she picked me up. My mom is very polite, so she quietly told the woman I was a service dog and asked her to put me down.
I wanted to bite her, but rule number one in service work is to remain calm and collected.
The woman was mortified. They always are mortified when this happens.
Before you ask, yes, I do wear a service vest, but it doesn’t always help. More than once, someone has asked my mom if it was an old Halloween costume. When I told my friends, they thought it was hilarious.
I wasn’t amused.
If you have any suggestions on strategies to get the respect I am due, I would be very appreciative.
Aggravated, Beth
Dear Beth,
I’m so sorry that you have had to bear the consequences of insensitive and uninformed members of the public. This is just another example of stereotyping. If you don’t look like a German Shepherd or a Golden Retriever, you couldn’t possibly be a service dog.
They, of course, wouldn’t be sitting on your mom’s lap, so their working vest would be more noticeable and probably taken more seriously. Perhaps your mom could get you a brighter-colored vest printed in large letters, “Service Dog.”
Another idea is she could hang a sign on the shopping cart, stating “Working Service Dog, Please Don’t Pet.” Or she could do both.
You could also bark the minute you saw anyone giving you that “isn’t she cute” look to alert your mom that another one of those hyper dog lovers is heading towards us.
You might also go back to the organization that trained you and ask for advice on how other small dogs have handled similar situations.
Keep up the excellent work Beth, you are a heroine to your fellow canines.
Best, Frankie
© 2021 Geneva Woodruff
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