service dogs or simply pets at MK last week?

[christymarie]

Misty sue, you admitted yourself you didn't even ask the family to move their dog which I know the majority of service dog owners would have been glad to do, especially since you were there first.

Legally it appears based on previous posters that you do have the right.

Instead you chose not do the very thing you have the right to do and then made it look like you are not able to enjoy things (like breathe air) because of the threat of service dogs.

Again, I may be over sensitive but I think that is unfair at best and as a service dog owner I took offense.

 

[mistysue]

I feel like you are grasping at straws here, but I'm sorry if you were offended.

Allergies are a disability, but the law also directly states that allergies are not a valid reason to deny access or service to a service animal. It's extremely direct, I am not morphing the situation. It may have been different if we could have said something before the dog was seated next to us but we didn't notice until they were already there and there was nowhere for the animal to be moved to. Now they leave their table they are already seated at and go wait outside for 20 minutes until there is a table? That restaurant would have had a flock of news outlets and a lawsuit before a table opened up.
I would have been laughed at for even suggesting it and you know it. If you were sitting somewhere minding your own business, drinking your drink and the table next door said "we have a dog allergy, you need to go outside until we are done" I can't imagine you would have smiled and left your table to go wait. The law says that if somebody has an allergy people should attempt seating away but it does not require it, if it's one person waits vs. both sit near each other- they give you neighboring tables and the allergy person either suffers or waits.

 

[bidnow5]

I have asthma and one of my worst triggers is perfume. I have had lots of fun in restaurants over the years. I have had to ask for a different table many times when they couldn't provide one I either left or got the food to go. I never considered asking the perfume wearer to move. I can't expect to have no perfume in a restaurant. A service dog is part of that person depending what the dog is for it could be life or death to some people.

 

[IntoTheLight]

My son's friend has a service dog, we often go out to eat at restaurants and it's not uncommon for someone to say something about it. Usually it's just someone who doesn't get it and wants to make some under the breath comment about it but has no real objections. Twice there has been someone with an allergy. The first time the person said it to us, "hey I have a terrible allergy, do you mind moving?" Sure, we moved no complaints. The second time the person said nothing to us, just glared and waited for a waiter. Complained PROFUSELY to the waiter, who then asked if we wouldn't mind moving since they already had food. It was probably the rudest way to go about it, but again we didn't mind. As much as my son's friend needs a dog, that person need the dog gone.

Even a full restaurant can make things work, if you're nice about it. No one wants you to get up and leave, not the restaurant or the dog owner. People with disabilities are usually the most accommodating you can get, our lives are far from easy and we rely on the kindness of others.

FTR- My son has no diagnosis either, years and 50 grand in tests and travel haven't changed a thing. We might never know. We fight for everything we get, which isn't a lot. I usually just say to stranger, "autism", "cerebral palsy" but it doesn't mean anything. However I don't think just because those with Autism have more support groups or funding have it any better. Labels, funding and awareness days don't matter when you on the verge of tears inside Target because you can't ever just have a normal day. We all fight the same battle for just a few minutes of feeling like part of the rest of the world.

 

[Emagine]

Educate me here please. We have not had this happen, yet. My son has a lab SD. It is very hard to get my son to transition once settled so going out to eat is rare, even at WDW.

If we were to be somewhere, anywhere, and someone had such an allergy how would we know? How close would we need to be? Is this like we walk down the aisle at Chili's to sit sort of thing? Or once he is under a table out of sight and it is the table next to us sort of thing?

I would truly have no problem in moving, especially if handled with respect and if there was a table to jump from and to. I would hope if my son goes into an outburst while walking he is over looked till he sees he is seated again. That will be all it would take.

We did have ppl once on a WDW bus get up and refuse to ride with us on OKW. I never knew why. Maybe this was it??? They just stood up and hopped off and pointed back to him on the floor. Now if we could get kids and even grown ups to not throw food and pet him it would be a miracle. What ever happened to do not pet animals you do not know, much less a Service Dog lolol.

Seriously though, I would like to know about this as we were never told from the agency this could happen. I would not want to harm someone ever.

 

[Sheilby]

Educate me here please. We have not had this happen, yet. My son has a lab SD. It is very hard to get my son to transition once settled so going out to eat is rare, even at WDW.

If we were to be somewhere, anywhere, and someone had such an allergy how would we know? How close would we need to be? Is this like we walk down the aisle at Chili's to sit sort of thing? Or once he is under a table out of sight and it is the table next to us sort of thing?

I would truly have no problem in moving, especially if handled with respect and if there was a table to jump from and to. I would hope if my son goes into an outburst while walking he is over looked till he sees he is seated again. That will be all it would take.

We did have ppl once on a WDW bus get up and refuse to ride with us on OKW. I never knew why. Maybe this was it??? They just stood up and hopped off and pointed back to him on the floor. Now if we could get kids and even grown ups to not throw food and pet him it would be a miracle. What ever happened to do not pet animals you do not know, much less a Service Dog lolol.

Seriously though, I would like to know about this as we were never told from the agency this could happen. I would not want to harm someone ever.

I have pretty severe allergies to most animals. As long as you weren't too close to me it probably wouldn't be an issue. If your dog brushed up against me I would break out in hives. If your dog licked me the swelling would be unreal, but I'm assuming a true service dog would never do that. If you were sitting too close to me my eyes would start itching and swelling, with certain dogs (and all cats) they would swell shut. My breathing would get labored, but Benedryl will usually help that, unfortunately it puts me to sleep. The migraine that the animal would trigger would require me to go back to the resort and call it a day. As long as your dog was far enough away and under the table I would likely not be bothered at all other then a minor "hay fever" episode that I get from many other things anyway.

I can not go to people's house if they have pets. We have no pets in this house nor does my MIL, mom or best friend. I can not be around my nieces until my MIL bathes them and changes their clothes. I do not hug or touch my BIL or SIL. I take 2 allergy medicines daily and I had years of shots as a child. My allergies went away while I was pregnant and breastfeeding, it was AWESOME. Now they are back full force and it is worse than it ever was. Don't take it personally if I see your dog and walk off the bus. I have to do what I have to do in order to protect myself. I would likely walk out of a restaurant if I saw an animal there too.

 

[mistysue]

FTR- My son has no diagnosis either, years and 50 grand in tests and travel haven't changed a thing. We might never know. We fight for everything we get, which isn't a lot. I usually just say to stranger, "autism", "cerebral palsy" but it doesn't mean anything. However I don't think just because those with Autism have more support groups or funding have it any better. Labels, funding and awareness days don't matter when you on the verge of tears inside Target because you can't ever just have a normal day. We all fight the same battle for just a few minutes of feeling like part of the rest of the world.

It doesn't make it all better, it is just something to appreciate. She was wishing for a different issue and I was just saying its not much better... here's something you can be happy to have. When you are on the verge of tears its better to have a support group than to have somebody to tell you they wish they only had your problem.

 

[Emagine]

I have pretty severe allergies to most animals. As long as you weren't too close to me it probably wouldn't be an issue. If your dog brushed up against me I would break out in hives. If your dog licked me the swelling would be unreal, but I'm assuming a true service dog would never do that. If you were sitting too close to me my eyes would start itching and swelling, with certain dogs (and all cats) they would swell shut. My breathing would get labored, but Benedryl will usually help that, unfortunately it puts me to sleep. The migraine that the animal would trigger would require me to go back to the resort and call it a day. As long as your dog was far enough away and under the table I would likely not be bothered at all other then a minor "hay fever" episode that I get from many other things anyway.

I can not go to people's house if they have pets. We have no pets in this house nor does my MIL, mom or best friend. I can not be around my nieces until my MIL bathes them and changes their clothes. I do not hug or touch my BIL or SIL. I take 2 allergy medicines daily and I had years of shots as a child. My allergies went away while I was pregnant and breastfeeding, it was AWESOME. Now they are back full force and it is worse than it ever was. Don't take it personally if I see your dog and walk off the bus. I have to do what I have to do in order to protect myself. I would likely walk out of a restaurant if I saw an animal there too.

TY kindly for your response. I truly did not know and never has the agency ever mentioned anything. We got him for my son in Nov so we are coming up on a year. I am sadden by your suffering by animals. That has to be hard. No my boy would not lick you. He might if you get on his level and sneak him a treat we do not normally give him lol. He has allergies to everything but fish.... go figure.

 

[Sheilby]

TY kindly for your response. I truly did not know and never has the agency ever mentioned anything. We got him for my son in Nov so we are coming up on a year. I am sadden by your suffering by animals. That has to be hard. No my boy would not lick you. He might if you get on his level and sneak him a treat we do not normally give him lol. He has allergies to everything but fish.... go figure.

You definitely don't have to worry about me sneaking a treat to your dog. I'll be the one giving him a WIDE berth.

I'm just glad the new rules only allow dogs (and some small horses) to be considered service animals. Cats are the things guaranteed to trigger my allergies and it could take hours (or sometimes until the next day) for me to go back to normal. Dogs are bad if I touch them or they lick me, but most dogs are OK as long as I keep my distance.

There are a lot worse things to be allergic to than animals, most of my friends don't own them anyway, and the few that do understand that I can't go into their houses. I had one lady in an old Bunco group who was offended that I wouldn't go to her house for Bunco because of her cats. I just chalked it up to her being crazy.

 

[LilyWDW]

I have pretty severe allergies to most animals. As long as you weren't too close to me it probably wouldn't be an issue. If your dog brushed up against me I would break out in hives. If your dog licked me the swelling would be unreal, but I'm assuming a true service dog would never do that. If you were sitting too close to me my eyes would start itching and swelling, with certain dogs (and all cats) they would swell shut. My breathing would get labored, but Benedryl will usually help that, unfortunately it puts me to sleep. The migraine that the animal would trigger would require me to go back to the resort and call it a day. As long as your dog was far enough away and under the table I would likely not be bothered at all other then a minor "hay fever" episode that I get from many other things anyway.

I can not go to people's house if they have pets. We have no pets in this house nor does my MIL, mom or best friend. I can not be around my nieces until my MIL bathes them and changes their clothes. I do not hug or touch my BIL or SIL. I take 2 allergy medicines daily and I had years of shots as a child. My allergies went away while I was pregnant and breastfeeding, it was AWESOME. Now they are back full force and it is worse than it ever was. Don't take it personally if I see your dog and walk off the bus. I have to do what I have to do in order to protect myself. I would likely walk out of a restaurant if I saw an animal there too.

I am really trying to be understanding and I have a question for you. How do you handle every day life? Would you react if someone who has a cat, and thus cat hair on them, brushes up against you? How bad of a reaction would that be?

I just don't have those sorts of problems so it has never been something I have really given must thought to. I have an an anaphylactic reactions (twice now) to something, but we don't know what yet.

 

[Sheilby]

I am really trying to be understanding and I have a question for you. How do you handle every day life? Would you react if someone who has a cat, and thus cat hair on them, brushes up against you? How bad of a reaction would that be?

I just don't have those sorts of problems so it has never been something I have really given must thought to. I have an an anaphylactic reactions (twice now) to something, but we don't know what yet.

I don't live all that close to people and I'm never in mass transit. I need my space and I avoid crowded areas like the plague. I am not friends with anyone who has a cat. That might sound a bit crazy, but I'm more of a loner and I prefer to just be around my hubby and a few select friends anyway. When I am near someone with a cat my eyes get extremely itchy and rush to my car to drive home before they swell shut. At that point I usually down Benedryl and just go to bed because I'm done for the day. I don't run into many problems. It's not like there are animals all over the place and strangers aren't usually rubbing up against me. I tend to run events rather than be in them so there is usually a table between me and other people. I'm a cubmaster and a soccer coach, but I don't touch any of the kids so it's not like if they have animals it is going to affect me. As long as I keep my distance and don't enter a place where animals live I'm fine.

 

[MrsBusDriver]

I am sorry so many have issues that they have to deal with, but am glad you chose to share some of that here in this thread. It let's people know some of what you go through. Thank you for sharing it has given me and perhaps others something to think about.

 

[Disneykidsdad]

Educate me here please. We have not had this happen, yet. My son has a lab SD. It is very hard to get my son to transition once settled so going out to eat is rare, even at WDW.

If we were to be somewhere, anywhere, and someone had such an allergy how would we know? How close would we need to be? Is this like we walk down the aisle at Chili's to sit sort of thing? Or once he is under a table out of sight and it is the table next to us sort of thing?

I would truly have no problem in moving, especially if handled with respect and if there was a table to jump from and to. I would hope if my son goes into an outburst while walking he is over looked till he sees he is seated again. That will be all it would take.

We did have ppl once on a WDW bus get up and refuse to ride with us on OKW. I never knew why. Maybe this was it??? They just stood up and hopped off and pointed back to him on the floor. Now if we could get kids and even grown ups to not throw food and pet him it would be a miracle. What ever happened to do not pet animals you do not know, much less a Service Dog lolol.

Seriously though, I would like to know about this as we were never told from the agency this could happen. I would not want to harm someone ever.

This is what we were told when we got my daughters service dog. If we are somewhere and someone complains about having allergies, they can move. Their allergy problem is their disability not out daughters. But if it was easier for us to move, we most likely would. In five years we have not had it happen.

 

[sunshinehighway]

This is what we were told when we got my daughters service dog. If we are somewhere and someone complains about having allergies, they can move. Their allergy problem is their disability not out daughters. But if it was easier for us to move, we most likely would. In five years we have not had it happen.

Ok I realize this is what you were told and not what you are saying yourself. It really lacks a sense of compassion for other people. It seems people always want a little compassion and respect from others but too many don't want to give it in return.

 

[crashbb]

Ok I realize this is what you were told and not what you are saying yourself. It really lacks a sense of compassion for other people. It seems people always want a little compassion and respect from others but too many don't want to give it in return.

Seriously. I cannot imagine the uproar if someone were to say "that service dog is their problem, not mine" and then refuse to do something to make life easier for the person with the service dog (like move out of the bulkhead seat on an airplane, as an example).

I've actually looked this up for flying (I don't have the documents at hand, but could look them up again). Neither disability (allergy or need for a service dog) takes priority. The first suggestion is to seat the parties as far apart as possible. If it isn't possible to seat them far enough apart and one party needs to take another flight, the decision as to who takes the other flight is not based on the disability. Things it is based on include ease of rebooking (e.g. if one party has two people and the other has six people, it is probably easier to move the smaller party), time of ticket purchase, time of informing the airline of the disability (it is suggested that you let the airline know of your animal allergy, so that they can see if a service animal is booked on your flight, for example) and other factors.

 

[peemagg]

I like many of you have allergies to animals, except mine is to cats and horses. If someone was to come in with a service horse and be close to me, I would have to move. I am so sensetive to them that all I have to do is be in a closed room with a piece of their tack or on someones clothes and I can't breath. Cats I am fine as long as I don't touch them or stay somewhere too long that has them. I know there are places I go that I need to take more meds for before I go to off set the reaction (i.e the vet, my sisters house).

I understand the issue coming from the allergy suffers standpoint, but I also understand from the owner of a service dog too. I have a service dog that most would not think of as a service dog, because she is so small. She is a 5.5lb miniature Poodle. She is a psychiatric service dog. If someone was to ask me to move, if they were there first because they had an allergy to her, I would if asked nicely. But if I am there and you sit down after, I think it is only fair that you move. That I think is the best way to handle it.

 

[Sheilby]

I am sorry so many have issues that they have to deal with, but am glad you chose to share some of that here in this thread. It let's people know some of what you go through. Thank you for sharing it has given me and perhaps others something to think about.

It isn't that bad, especially since I don't work and have a lot of control over my environment. If I didn't have that freedom things might be different. This last year my allergies have gotten significantly worse and it seems like I am back where I was when I was younger. I'm not willing to get pregnant again just to get rid of them for a few more years though

I am worried about more and more people having service animals though. I would gladly remove myself from a situation on occasion to accommodate someone else who really needs an animal to function independently, but if it was happening on a regular basis it really wouldn't be fair. Thankfully cats can't be considered service animals anymore so I don't have to worry about them being brought in and sat next to me in a movie theater. I did have to stop volunteering at a senior center though when they brought in cats to be companions for the residents there. I felt bad saying goodbye, but I just couldn't stay.

 

[Sheilby]

I understand the issue coming from the allergy suffers standpoint, but I also understand from the owner of a service dog too. I have a service dog that most would not think of as a service dog, because she is so small. She is a 5.5lb miniature Poodle. She is a psychiatric service dog. If someone was to ask me to move, if they were there first because they had an allergy to her, I would if asked nicely. But if I am there and you sit down after, I think it is only fair that you move. That I think is the best way to handle it.

I agree, I would never ask someone to move who was there first, I would just asked to be seated away from them. However, if they just delivered my dinner I think it would be appropriate for them to be seated somewhere else.

As for your dog, is it a service animal or a companion animal? Is it trained to do a task or does it just help you stay calm and focused? I only ask because I'm pretty sure the law applies differently in that situation.

 

[Disneykidsdad]

I like many of you have allergies to animals, except mine is to cats and horses. If someone was to come in with a service horse and be close to me, I would have to move. I am so sensetive to them that all I have to do is be in a closed room with a piece of their tack or on someones clothes and I can't breath. Cats I am fine as long as I don't touch them or stay somewhere too long that has them. I know there are places I go that I need to take more meds for before I go to off set the reaction (i.e the vet, my sisters house).

I understand the issue coming from the allergy suffers standpoint, but I also understand from the owner of a service dog too. I have a service dog that most would not think of as a service dog, because she is so small. She is a 5.5lb miniature Poodle. She is a psychiatric service dog. If someone was to ask me to move, if they were there first because they had an allergy to her, I would if asked nicely. But if I am there and you sit down after, I think it is only fair that you move. That I think is the best way to handle it.

Sorry but the ADA no longer considers "psychiatric dogs" (emotional support dogs) as service dogs unless they are with a wounded warrior.

 

[peemagg]

She is trained to do specific tasks for me. She is not just a companion animal.