Service dogs are incredibly well-trained and compliant. This dog was not. |
It’s true though. Now every entitled person in town think they should be allowed to have their emotional support peacock fly on a plane or whatever because they got some certificate from some online mill for $50. It’s an absolute mockery of actual people with disabilities and their highly trained service animals. I will withhold judgment in this case until more facts come to light. But if this was a pet or “emotional support” animal brought on the train without any formal training/appropriate apparatus to control the dog’s location next to the owner, then I just can’t find WMATA at fault here. This isn’t a PetCo. |
I hope your friend learns from this and is very mindful when using the metro. |
This. |
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Plot twist - ADA.gov says service dogs are not required to wear a vest or other ID that states they are a service dog.
That being said, I still don’t think it was one after hearing that the daughter adopted the dog out to another family. |
Were you THERE??? |
That's great, and it sounds like she's why something like a waist leash can be beneficial for some individuals. Her dog sounds very well trained and compliant, just like all real service animals. This dog was not, and it clearly did not follow or respond to its handler. |
They are not required to wear a vest and there's no real standardization of service dog type, including dog breed or training or what service the dog is performing. That being said, this dog is unlucky and I can see why the daughter didn't want it and no one else wanted it for a service animal either. |
Yes but it was at a shelter for only a few hours. There was no need for her to immediately go get it and give it away. |
They are not, but service animals are required to be trained to perform a specifically medical task. And it is legal to ask what task the animal is trained to perform. "Because I get lonely" or "because I get anxiety" are not medical assistance or tasks. |
Um. DP, but it's kind of blatantly obvious, since the dog did not lead or immediately follow the owner. That's not what service animals do. It is, however, what pets do. |
Service dogs cost thousands of dollars to train for specific tasks. I don’t think they would just get adopted out to a random family. The family is saying it’s a service dog but I don’t think it is. It’s still a tragedy and I still feel badly for this gentleman. This is a cautionary tale as to why pets, a.k.a. emotional support animals should not be allowed just anywhere. It is literally an accident waiting to happen. |
The family said "the dog was wearing a vest" which seemed disingenuous and indicated to me that it was just a fake service animal vest. They never said it was a service dog. |
| this story says the dog was wearing the service dog vest at the time https://www.fox5dc.com/news/grandfather-dies-at-dunn-loring-metro-station-after-dog-leash-gets-caught-in-train-door |
Oh I agree. The reason I said “plot twist” was because they originally thought the dog wasn’t a service dog because it didn’t have any ID. Apparently it doesn’t need to have ID to be a service dog. |