Recently, while at a large venue to see a concert, I saw a woman in high heels, short shorts, lots of makeup and a large dog on a leash. The dog was wearing a Service Dog vest, which is why it was clearly allowed at the venue.
But shouldn’t there be consideration for the health and welfare of the dog? How good can it be for a dog – a creature that has much more intense hearing capabilities than humans - to be at a concert where the music is too loud? How good can it be for a dog to be surrounded by hundreds and hundreds of strangers? How disgusting must it be for this poor dog to lie on the filth of the venue floor?
I understand why some people have service dogs, but clearly some people are taking advantage. If you have such bad anxiety that you need to always have your dog with you, how can you be fine surrounded by all those people and all that noise?
Something’s fishy
In Ontario, there are three types of service dog certificates. There are service dogs who are specifically trained to help with a disability, such as dogs trained to smell out gluten for Celiac sufferers, or trained to be in tune to their owner’s illness enough that they can even fetch their necessary medicine before they realize they need it.
There are Emotional Support animals who help those suffering from anxiety, stress, depression or other mental health issues. And there are Therapy dogs who provide relief and comfort to those in facilities, such as hospitals or long-term care facilities.
Based on this woman’s appearance, you cannot judge why she needs a service dog or an emotional support dog. If you knew she suffered anxiety and fear of strangers, then yes, going to a concert may seem a stretch, but maybe she’s anaphylactic allergic to something and needs her dog there to make sure she doesn’t come in contact with whatever her allergen is. Who knows?
I agree that bringing a dog to a large venue, with hundreds (thousands?) of people seems unnecessary. And I agree that it might be hard on their hearing because it is true that dogs have superior hearing to humans. And yes, it’s filthy, but just as we wash, so too can a dog have a bath.
So, is this particular dog a legit service dog? We’ll never know, but it’s not anyone’s place to judge.
I found the story about the woman having an affair with a man she met in the eggplant section of the grocery store (Nov. 15) to be somewhat dubious. How do you go about sifting out real stories from bogus ones?
Just curious
I can only do my best. There is no way for me to verify whether a question is bogus or legit. In fact, several years ago, when my mother had this column, she received a question that was the plot of a well-known, but not recent, movie. She answered the question unknowingly; I edited the question unknowingly; and it was printed in the paper by our editors at the time, also unknowingly. Only after the fact, did we hear from readers that we had been played.
We apologized to our readers, but all were understanding. How can we know the plot of every single book/movie/play out there?
Still, if someone sends in a bogus question, if it’s answerable, hopefully it will be helpful to someone out there.
And thank you for asking, because if you’re thinking it, someone else is too.
FEEDBACK Regarding the job situation (Nov. 7):
Reader – “I agree with your advice to talk to your co-worker, but not before you first document the times the co-worker has mishandled things and what you had to do to recover the situation. Then, and ONLY then, go to the boss with documentation.”
Reader #2 – “You suggested talking to the fellow employee who was not doing their work and needing to step up and that giving them a last chance to either straighten up or you would have to go to the boss. You missed one important thing, which is that it’s very possible the other employee would turn around and go to the boss and say that they were the one that was doing these jobs and that the letter writer was the one not holding up their own end of the work. With an absentee boss, who just wants the work done, they very well could believe them.”