Therapy dogs in shops and restaurants

[Humpback21]

Where I used to work we had a rule of no dogs except assistance and guid dogs etc. in the last few years at that job we get dogs coming in as “therapy dogs” with coats for the dog saying therapy dog.One lady would bring her big dog pulling on the lead I questioned her and politely said no dogs allowed she claimed it was a therapy dog but it didn’t like to wear its coat and collar. I recently saw a dog outside the supermarket with therapy dog written on its coat waiting with its owner and all their shopping. There are no dog charity’s that train dogs to be assistance therapy dogs. I know of charities that bring therapy dogs into hospitals and care homes. Are people really buying fake coats for their dogs so they don’t have to part with them. I’m all for dogs and am a massive dog lover but surely dog owners have to realise that a trained assistance dog in a public or private space is trained to be

@OMG12 I'm not disputing your experience. Just pointing out that legally therapy dogs are not entitled to access in the same way that service dogs are.

This guidance is also helpful regarding the legal position re assistance dogs (provided by one of the trading organisations)

“There is no official registration or certification for assistance dogs in the UK. As long as your dog is well trained and mitigates your disability, you are covered by the Equality Act 2010. Some organisations such as airlines & universities may require your dog to be registered with ADUK or specific charities ; but please note, this is not legal and they are breaking the law by requesting for your dog to be registered.”

You will also note from This guide from the Equalities and Human Rights Commission for businesses that assistance dogs can be owner trained and that there is no requirement to wear a specific harness or carry ID/information about the dog.

My friend has a guide dog which has been attacked by self trained service or emotional support dogs. Anyone can buy a vest for a dog and call it a service or therapy dog unlike the dogs who have been through charities like guide dogs, canine partners etc and who have met incredibly high standards. It’s super controversial though. Sadly the waiting lists for charity dogs are long and criteria strict so people turn to training their own. Some people successfully train their own to a high standard, some people just slap a vest on their pet and drag it out everywhere.

As for paperwork, you can create your own by printing it off of the internet. Facebook groups will help you create your own so your dog is ‘real’. Someone 100% classes her dog as a real registered dog and has printed paperwork from a Facebook page, it actually looks like it’s registered with a charity. She classes it as a real service dog, to people who don’t know it looks real. As there’s no uk register, who is to say what is real and what isn’t? I’m pretty sure the people who check her paperwork though would be horrified to find it’s not a charity and it’s a Facebook page!

Quite a few boxes ticked already!

Nor should they be. Why is it only 'therapy' dogs, can I bring my 'therapy' horse or cobra with me? This type of thread is what I mentally call Wagon Train, a load of bandwagons.

If you read my posts you’ll see that assistance dogs are one who assist to mitigate the effects of a disability, they do not have to be professionally trained snd there is no where to register them. Maybe there needs to be a register but there isn’t one currently.

The helpfulness of this thread had shown me that my dog is an assistance dog (as both myself and my dog meet the criteria). She will be accompanying me to lots of places now which will really help me.

Well crack on with your attitude about disabled people.

@WiddlinDiddlin - thank you for sharing this. This is something I know zero about but how fascinating - and your dog sounds amazing!

Are people really buying fake coats for their dogs so they don’t have to part with them

Absolutely. The fact this is all completely unregulated means that you now have a small proportion of genuine people with assistance dogs and a large proportion of CF’s with pet dogs they like to take everywhere and this gives them the perfect means to do so.

I used to have a friend (you will see why it is ‘used to’ and there was more than this), who had a poorly behaved dog that she couldn’t leave at home because it barked senseless resulting in neighbour complaints, council intervention etc. So, she purchased a coat from Amazon and claimed it was an Assistance dog so she could take it out so the neighbours were not as annoyed. It was not trained in any way (not even normal dog training let alone any specific assistance activities), and it was very poorly behaved. She kicked off if anyone challenged it claiming disability discrimination etc - she had no disability.

The current system just doesn’t work as the CF’ers ruin it for those who are genuine.

People are being very selfish because it leads to people who genuinely need assistance dogs being treated with suspicion.

I can’t see the problem myself.

There’s a lady in America who insists on taking her therapy horse called flirty everywhere. Turns out she has plantar fasciitis (but doesn’t ride the pony for relief for her foot). She has caused some uproar by flying with the pony as it’s not even tiny. I imagine if there was sudden turbulence a big pony would cause massive injury in a plane. I love pony’s but I would be scared to be in a plane with one unsecured. I saw a video recently about what happened when a plane hit clear air turbulence during dinner time while everyone was seated. With a big pony being throw around I’m sure there would have been deaths (not to mention the poor pony).

How uneducated can you be???? What about dogs for the deaf, epilepsy, allergies, to help people with mobility issues, mental health issues the list goes on how dogs help disabled people.

I really despair.

What about hearing dogs for the deaf? Genuine seizure alert dogs? Gluten detecting dogs?

these all help people who would meet the definition of disabled under the equality act. Are they not worthy of help?

Your dog sounds amazing!

The key word is “well trained”. I am sure most owner trained assistance dogs are genuine and well trained. Unfortunately, it is a minority with badly trained dogs. A so-called trained assurance dog will not bark its head off at pigeon while working nor pee inside.

Tbh of all the dogs I know I don’t know any over about 4 months that would pee indoors service animal or not. Re barking at a pigeon I guess a little bred dependant but again I don’t think I’ve seen this happen

Too many places admit dogs these days and too many people lie and pretend they are therapy dogs.

No paperwork? Then it isn't a therapy dog.

Why does anyone care if there’s a therapy/ any dog in a shop anyway? If you are scared of dogs you can just avoid it surely?

You would never leave your house if you couldn’t be within sight of a dog.

That’s factually incorrect.

But it shouldn't be, should it? If it's a genuine trained dog there will be paperwork.

A lot of people don't like dogs slobbering all over the place in shops and pubs. Dog drool is very unattractive.

I’m sorry but you’re completely wrong. ADUK recognise that they cannot provide assistance dogs in all areas where they can be of benefit. They are the only organisation that can provide paperwork in the UK. People with disabilities are left with no choice but to train their own (even where dogs can be trained by recognised charities the shortage of such dogs means many are left to self train). There is no requirement to carry or show ID.

You know what’s unattractive people who think it’s ok to limit others lives because they have a disability. Many people are able to access life that but more fully with the assistance of a dog. Would you rather have me banging my head against a wall during a panic attack from my PTSD or be able to stroke my dog? Maybe think about the difficulties many others face that are so much worse than you finding dog drool a bit icky (most dogs don’t habitually drool).

@OMG12

You know what’s unattractive people who think it’s ok to limit others lives because they have a disability. Many people are able to access life that but more fully with the assistance of a dog. Would you rather have me banging my head against a wall during a panic attack from my PTSD or be able to stroke my dog? Maybe think about the difficulties many others face that are so much worse than you finding dog drool a bit icky (most dogs don’t habitually drool).

As a wheelchair user I'm well aware of how limited my life is. Maybe think about the inconvenience dogs cause to those with allergies or getting under my wheels in small shops and pubs. The owners seem to think I should stay outside so I don't run over their dogs. Is that fair?

Dogs working with the blind and genuine support dogs know to stay out of the way. It's the pretend ones that are a nuisance because their owners are too lazy to train them. Or maybe they aren't support dogs at all just owned by selfish people who think their dogs should be allowed everywhere, even if it limits humans.

Legislation is needed to be fair to all.