A blind California author is speaking out after she received a printout from a restaurant close to where she lives. As somebody who uses a real service dog, she’s fed up with people who use fake service dogs just so they can take their dog somewhere they aren’t supposed to be. She discusses why this is incredibly harmful to the disabled community.
Molly Burke (@mollyburkeofficial) is a speaker and author, and she’s also blind. She also uses a service dog when she goes out and about. When she went to a restaurant in Los Angeles, California, she was shocked to be given a handout. What did it say? It showed “a list of rules that you need to follow in order to eat at their establishment.” The rules are regarding service animals. The restaurant handed her a slip that shows “service animal house rules” and what they expect of you and your service animal if you eat at their restaurant. The list includes making sure your dog is not “barking, biting, and begging.” It also states, “Please keep your animal on a leash and within your reach at all times.”
Molly says the fact that the restaurant has to hand these out to disabled patrons says a lot about society. She explains that, in California, it’s actually a misdemeanor to “pretend your dog is a service animal.” She also adds that, if you have a real service animal, they wouldn’t need this special list of rules to follow. They would already be trained to understand those rules. Unfortunately, people think it’s okay to bring dogs everywhere and say they’re service animals when they’re not. That’s why restaurants and other establishments are forced into speaking up.
Molly said that it’s frustrating to her that restaurants feel the need to hand out papers like this. In her own word, she explains, “It tells me that they have a lot of people faking service dogs. That they have a lot of people bringing in ill-behaved dogs.” She goes on to say that, if you bring your dog somewhere and it isn’t a real service animal, “you are actively harming disabled people.” Restaurants and other places begin questioning disabled people with real service dogs and that’s a societal issue. Molly says people like her start having a “bad reputation” then, and she doesn’t like that. It also ensures disabled people don’t feel welcomed into areas where they’re legally permitted to be with their service animals.
Commenters came together to share their opinions and outrage over this situation on Molly’s video. One commenter reacted to the video by asking, “Was that print out in braille?” Other commenters have shared their experiences with this scenario. One woman commented, “As someone who works in a restaurant it is ABUNDANTLY clear which dogs are actual service dogs. I know I can’t legally ask more than the 2 questions so I never do but it’s frustrating when the dog is disrupting the establishment and is clearly not trained.” Another commenter shared, “I’m a dog owner and I think people have gone way too far with bringing their dogs places. I think in COVID a lot of people forgot that it’s perfectly fine to leave your dog for a few hours.”
Commenters continue to share their experiences with service animals and concerns about individuals who bring unverified service animals into public spaces. Many also expressed support for Molly and her hopes for greater awareness and clearer standards around the issue.
