Repetitions of 'shit people say to service dog handlers' is static when Gibbs and I are out, but there are the rare moments of what the fuck just happened? Two different stories from that category:
#1) An elderly man was convinced that Gibbs was a seeing-eye dog, and I had trouble changing his mind. It was probably my failure to communicate clearly, but since we were in line to check out we just kept mis-communicating. I guess it was his way of killing time. Several minutes into the chat:
Elderly Man (suspiciously): "So if that isn't your seeing-eye dog, where did you get it?"
Me: "He is my dog, although he isn't a seeing-eye dog."
Elderly Man (not joking at all): "Did you take a blind person's seeing-eye dog?"
Me: "What..?"
Elderly Man: "Y'know, like without permission."
I still have no clue what to make of that curious exchange.
#2) Gibbs and I were walking through the hospital, on our way to an appointment, and a woman with two offspring were walking in the opposite direction. The mother and I did the polite 'eye contact of hallway travelers' during passing, and the kids did a quick glance from me to Gibbs. There was no squealing, no pointing, not a single gasp, and I felt a flash of unexpected relief A second or two later, I heard the mother talking to her young. "Anytime you see a dog wearing a vest like that, it means don't bother them because they are working."
For some reason this had an emotional impact on me. I didn't run after them and thank her, but I feel like I should have. Thank you to those strangers. Carry on.
1 comment:
When I hear parents telling their kids proper service dog etiquette I want to slip them a little thank you note.
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