I know the laws. But, people are people. I'm working with one grocery now to educate their employees. Two other stores in town I have never had a single issue with. But one store - the employees are always asking me things. The public has no idea, generally, about the laws about service dogs.

Not responding is one way to handle it - but I see myself as part of the overall service dog partners community. Sort of an ambassador - most service dog users feel this way too. If I am rude to them - it sets the tone for other service dog users they might meet other times. Sometimes a few words of explanation can change someone from skeptical to amazed that a dog can do all the things they can to help people with disabilities. I try hard not to be rude to people, even when I am in a lot of pain. If I am really short on time, I just say she was trained to help me, and I don't know what I would do without her help.

I was just pointing out that having a dog out in public can be - umm - difficult.

Most people are just curious or are dog lovers. They don't think about what they are asking.

I stopped in the local grocery the other day for milk, OJ and bananas. Sounds like a quick stop, right? I was stopped by 4 employees wanting to pet, talk to, ask about my dog, and 7 customers. One of the employees wanted to give my dog a tootsie roll from her pocket. And, I try hard not to make eye contact or encourage people to come up and chat.

Just wanted to make people aware that although it sounds good to "be able to take your dog with you everywhere you go" - that there are responsibilities and challenges that come with this.

I have been at this for 4 years now. Just when I think I have heard every comment or question, someone out in public comes up with something new.

The ADA gives the disabled the right to use a service dog, and gives many specifics. Each state has laws too. The US laws "trump" the state laws, but the state can add to the US law. For instance, the US law does not recognize dogs that are in training, yet some states do allow for dogs in training to be taken into places dogs are not normally allowed.

To make things even more complicated, housing and air travel are not covered under the ADA, but under separate laws. It can be tricky to understand the laws for different situations, different states etc. It's a hot topic on many of the service dog forums I belong to, and I've been to many service dog seminars where understanding laws and access were a big part of the event.

The IAADP that I referenced above helps members with access issues and with knowing and understanding laws.

LitLove, if your considering using a service dog, there might be things it could be trained to do to help you with your individual issues. For instance, mine learned on her own to alert me to muscle spasms, also when I am starting to become tired, and am pushing myself, my pain goes up and she alerts (nags me, really) till I stop and rest. They can do all sorts of things.