The Service Animal Crap Has Got To Stop...

[daddyusmaximus]

The incidence of mental illness in the general population at-large is much higher than anyone could ever imagine. It runs from minor phobias, nervousness, triggered behavior to full-blown psychosis. One person's normalcy is another's odd behavior. Societies then establish rules to determine limits of what is acceptable.

I've had a service dog for 5 years now.

She's big, but she ain't no horse...



In case you're wondering... TBI / PTSD, both stemming from an IED attack in Iraq in 2005. I also have other injuries... Anyhow... she has made a wonderful change to how I live my life now. She is trained specifically to preform certain tasks that help mitigate problems I have with my medical issues, NOT just to make me feel better. We went to training every Thursday night for almost two years at a program two towns north of us. Yes, I love her, and fawn over her, and want to take her everywhere, but there are medical reasons that I even have her... Reasons that got me a "Total and permanent" by the VA.


I have two major problems with working a service dog every day.

1. Can't go anywhere without being pestered to death. "Your dog is so beautiful" "What's your dogs name?" "Can I pet your dog?"

How come she's always so beautiful, but I'm never handsome? (Don't answer that.) How come they always are so curious about my medical service dog, but they don't seem to give a crap about my medical cane I walk with, or my walker I use on my bad days. (Not that it's any of their damn business.) Jesus, lady would you like to discuss all the pills the VA gives me to take every day too?

2. Fake service dogs. (animals) Seems everybody and their brother wants to take their dog shopping, so they buy a vest and call it a service dog...

These dogs are almost always NOT well behaved. There is no level of training at all. Often, the handler can barely keep them under control. So many business are afraid to question these fakes, for the same reason people are afraid of the leftists who scream racist, bigot, homophobe, at everyone... They don't want to be a target. Then, another business will question my legitimate medical service dog. Probably because of having bad experiences with these fakes.

Fake service dog people never have the #1 problem. They only take their dog out when they feel like it, so it's not often enough to feel like they're getting sick of it, or they just want the attention. When you have to have your dog with you all day every day... it's a different story. It's not all fun, and games.

BTW, If you want to see what passes for the "limits of what is acceptable" look at this facebook video that somehow seems to meet the "Community Standards" they use as an excuse to remove posts, and ban people... Had I been there to see this, I would PTSD all over that vile creature. Thank God I wasn't...


https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=496894720905096

[daddyusmaximus]

I couldn't care what someone brings on a plane as long as the plane lands without issue, and as long as I didn't have to be pestered by it, smell it, listen to it... the entire flight.

Fixed it for you.

Pretty sure you'd change your tune were you or your family directly effected.

[Arik]

Fixed it for you.

Pretty sure you'd change your tune were you or your family directly effected.

Not when it comes to flying.

And generally speaking the only things that kinda bother me are crying infants. I'd rather use a power drill to do my own dental work than listen to infants none stop crying, but on a plane I wouldn't even hear it. Smells never really bothered me anyway. Not even skunks. Completely indifferent to that.

[ramairthree]

So why is it generations of WWI, WWII, Korea, VN, etc, vets managed without them,
Thousands of post VN and GWOT vets that have literally stacked bodies, been on objectives night after night, etc. also done just fine without them,

But now million of vets and non vets need fake ass support woobies and animals,
Legit branded service dogs not actually performing a service, etc?

[OH58D]

So why is it generations of WWI, WWII, Korea, VN, etc, vets managed without them,
Thousands of post VN and GWOT vets that have literally stacked bodies, been on objectives night after night, etc. also done just fine without them,

But now million of vets and non vets need fake ass support woobies and animals,
Legit branded service dogs not actually performing a service, etc?

Everyone is wired differently - everyone copes and deals with things differently. My soon to be 97 year old father in law was with the 2nd BN, 16th Inf Regt, 1st Inf Div at Omaha Beach. He generally does not want to talk about it, would not watch Saving Private Ryan or any documentaries about it. He just says he doesn't want to re-live it. However, he has opened up to his grandson, who is my youngest child at West Point. They connect and discuss when he wouldn't talk to anyone else.

Early in my Army career, I stopped drinking because it was going to be an issue for me. I haven't drank booze since. After I retired, I'd have nights where I'd wake up in cold sweats re-living an image of an RPG coming straight for my aircraft, or other images of dead bodies. It was a form of PTSD, but I just dealt with it. Talked to my wife a lot about things I never could or would discuss while I was still in uniform. My outlet and coping has been wide open spaces. I needed to get away from civilization, or at least a lot of it, and I am just fine now. I don't need a service animal because I have a crew of Australian Shepherds that help run the cows. In addition I have 11 horses to keep me occupied as well as a herd of 920 +/- cattle to chase around.

[SteyrAUG]

So why is it generations of WWI, WWII, Korea, VN, etc, vets managed without them,
Thousands of post VN and GWOT vets that have literally stacked bodies, been on objectives night after night, etc. also done just fine without them,

But now million of vets and non vets need fake ass support woobies and animals,
Legit branded service dogs not actually performing a service, etc?

I would imagine a big part of it is we didn't know dogs were capable of such things until recently.

[titsonritz]

I had a flight, where a woman 2 rows up had a small dog with her in a carry on case. That damn dog whined, right up to take off.

Then it shit starting when the pilot powered up for take off, and it didn't stop shitting until after it was off the plane. The whole plane smell like dog diarrhea.

Which is why I agree with my partner, that our goal is too get to the point where we own a business that leases out time on private jets. So we can use jets during their down time.

LOL, hopeful it wasn't that flight from LAX to HND.

[TomMcC]

So why is it generations of WWI, WWII, Korea, VN, etc, vets managed without them,
Thousands of post VN and GWOT vets that have literally stacked bodies, been on objectives night after night, etc. also done just fine without them,

But now million of vets and non vets need fake ass support woobies and animals,
Legit branded service dogs not actually performing a service, etc?

Change...everything is about change. Some of it is because of "science". The science of the mind tells us that people feel better if they are near cool animals, so here we are.

[OH58D]

Daddyusmaximus has a nice looking dog. I am never in a position to make definitive conclusions on someone else's emotional and mental state - I work hard enough to keep myself squared away.

I will relate one thing that makes you ponder. There is a woman here in New Mexico who is the head honcho for a Veterans's group (which I will not name). She spent a total of 9 months in the Army, but was medically "retired" with at least a 30% disability. She claims to have PTSD because she was the victim of rape. She is a rough looking gal and she goes around with a service dog everywhere - movies, restaurants, stores, airplanes, taverns, parades...everywhere. She has the dog's ballistic harness covered will all kinds of Army paraphernalia -patches, rank, etc. You'd figure the dog was a Vet.

Just listening to her talk and the whole rape thing sounds like it's bogus - just one look at her makes you think the whole rape thing is bogus. I have lots of questions in life and I'm sure most will never be answered.

[SteyrAUG]

Change...everything is about change. Some of it is because of "science". The science of the mind tells us that people feel better if they are near cool animals, so here we are.

What if the animal in question actually warns you if your blood sugar is low? There is one person in this very thread who talks about his service dog and it's a bit more than emotional therapy.

That said, dogs probably do make most people happy, but that's not reason enough to bring them on a plane, in a restaurant or to the grocery store.