Community Chat

[skuggles]

On 6/14/2014 bikerbabe said: They are not all fakes so let us please clear up this misunderstanding. Yes some are not properly trained and there are bogus websites where you can pay to get support dog gear. Some are legit and properly trained. There are emotional support and psychiatric service dogs for example for veterans with PTSD and TBI who suffer anxiety attacks when trying to integrate back into society. The dogs can help tremendously.

Nicely stated.The truth.

[PIT-HAG Melissa]

Renters in my building are not allowed dogs..but we DO have one oF the Emotional support babies... he is ADORABLE!

ETA- He is not ""fake"" ...

[PIT-HAG Melissa]

On 6/14/2014 Free2be said:

We have other social problems:

Lack of compassion. There is treatment for that.

And more urgently, a need for understanding of mental disorders which would cause a shift back to taking early treatment and ongoing treatment very seriously.

Really, we have bigger fish to fry than this disdain for individual situations that we don't know the particulars and it's none of our business to know them. This attitude is like picking on people for having a weakness that is not understood. A different kind of bullying. Just what they need. You could also tell them to get over it. That would work.

BRAVA!

[Catitude]

On 6/14/2014 JustMeMelissa said:

Renters in my building are not allowed dogs..but we DO have one oF the Emotional support babies... he is ADORABLE!

ETA- He is not ""fake"" ...

There is a renter in my building that has one. We are in a no dogs allowed complex but they did approve his dog for emotional support. The man is scary and strange (and I think might be a hoarder) but his dog is sweet.

[PIT-HAG Melissa]

On 6/14/2014 Opurrra said:

On 6/14/2014 JustMeMelissa said:

Renters in my building are not allowed dogs..but we DO have one oF the Emotional support babies... he is ADORABLE!

ETA- He is not ""fake"" ...

There is a renter in my building that has one. We are in a no dogs allowed complex but they did approve his dog for emotional support. The man is scary and strange (and I think might be a hoarder) but his dog is sweet.

AWWWW...

[Photo Donna]

I don't recall anyone stating they are all fakes. There is a growing number of fakes and companies out there aiding in faking it.

If someone is in need -- I think it would be best to get a true service dog and not just a support animal (if they intend to take them out into public on a regular basis and travel with them).

Don't all pets give us some kind of an emotional boost?

[151949]

On 6/14/2014 Tinkrbl44 said:

There was a news show about these service dogs being tremendously helpful to soldiers coming back from Afganistan, etc. with serious PSTD .... and the dogs being able to get through to those that are so shut down they can't function.

Don't assume it's always a "con".

i don't think the numerous 80 year old men and ladies running around Publix and walmart in Fl with their little dogs wearing the pink vests they buy on the internet are veterans from Afghanistan. You would understand this better if you lived where I live - in a predominantly retiree community in Florida.It seems every third person we see has one of these vests on their dog, and then uses it as an excuse to take the dogs into places like restaurants and grocery stores. In my experience - and i have friends who have done this - the vests they buy on the internet are pink - no legit service dogs I am aware of wear a pink vest.

[sidsmom]

Can we blame Paris Hilton for the little-dog-by-my-side-at-all-times fad? #makeitstop

[Wolfpack Fan]

My son-in-law got a service dog last year. He was in the Green Zone in Iraq in 2008 when a rocket landed near him and knocked him out for a very short time. When he came to, blood and pus were coming out of his ears. This happened a few weeks before it was time for him to come home. At first, he thought he would get back to normal soon. But he suffered a traumatic brain injury with hearing loss in both ears, vertigo, tinnitus, memory loss (He doesn't remember many people with whom he went to high school.), PTSD, severe headaches, etc. He finally had to medically-retire after eleven years. When he retired, he was a major in the U.S. Air Force (a meteorologist). He has had numerous surgeries on his ears. He's lucky in that he lives in the DC area and can get treatment at places like Walter Reed. My daughter and SIL were at my house for Christmas, and that's when I first saw his dog, a Shiloh Shepherd. They already had two greyhounds that they had adopted. This dog was still considered a puppy. The greyhounds will just sit around and rest for most of the day. This service dog was much more active. We ate out several times, and my SIL took the service dog with him. Before we left, he put the dog's vest on him. As soon as we got inside the restaurant, the dog immediately got under the center of the table, put his head down, and never moved. He knows that as soon as the vest is put on him, he can't play--that he has a job to do. I get upset that some people, like my sister, think that my son-in-law's injury wasn't bad because he doesn't seem to have any visible injuries. Our cousin's husband had part of an arm blown off in Vietnam. Several days ago, I mentioned the terrorist group now in Iraq (ISIS) and said that if these terrorists take over all of Iraq, my son-in-law's injuries and the deaths of other soldiers would have all been in vain. She said, "Some people have arms or legs blown off." I replied that I would rather lose an arm or a leg than part of my brain. When I mention that he goes on some Ride2Recovery rides, she'll act like he is okay if he can do that. I tell her that he has to ride a recumbent bike which is low to the ground like a go-cart and has three wheels. All he does is pedal and steer. When he tried to ride a regular bike, he kept turning over. So just because you can't see an injury doesn't mean that there aren't any. Don't judge people with service dogs until you know their individual stories.

[Kachina624]

On 6/14/2014 terrier3 said:

On 6/14/2014 kachina624 said: I recently heard about such a dog on an airplane. It didn't mention the breed but it must have been a large dog. It had diarrhea and vomited several times in the aisle of the airplane. People all over the plane were gagging as the smell was circulated in the air. The crew only had a few paper towels, not enough to clean it up. The plane had to make an emergency landing for cleaning.

Humans get sick too...not just dogs.

Chances were much greater that a passenger gets sick on a plane.

As a rule, passengers don't have diarrhea in the aisle. Geez, some people will argue about anything.