Warning!! Will Cause Intense Anger; Restaurant refuses Iraq War Vet. and service dog

[Karmady]

If you have PTSD going out to eat is a big step and would be recommended treatment.JMO

That's quite strange to me since eating at home is much, MUCH cheaper and far more convenient. I would think that going to the market to buy food to cook for breakfast would be similarly therapeutic and way less expensive. So would be going to the library or the post office. Or even walking down the street in your neighborhood. Eating in a restaurant is never a necessity and there are plenty of ways to interact with people without going to a restaurant.

 

[Karmady]

Case in point.

Sad thing is, you can't force people to grow the capacity for real compassion....

If this quote from your just prior post is what you're referrring to in this "case in point" post, by all means be direct. If you'd like to say I'm not compassionate, come right out and say it. I'm sure any person who would recommend dining out in restaurants as therapeutic would also recommend speaking one's mind directly. jmo

 

[Karmady]

"Fake" service dog? Is there some rampant problem with people trying to bring pets in places and claiming they're a service pet when questioned? I don't see the point of why people would lie about it. The thrill of bringing their pet into a place it's not supposed to be? I've seen lots of stories about people being told they can't bring their service pet inside a business, or even that their service pet is not allowed to live in the town(a man here in Iowa had to fight to keep his dog because it was part pitbull and the town had a ban on pitbulls and pitbull mixes), but I think this is the first I've read where the person was accused of having a fake service dog...

There is a rampant problem with people claiming ptsd for benefits who get the "service animals" for credibility and sympathy and because they can. It's been going on for decades. I know of a woman who claimed her ferrets to be service animals -- IN a lawsuit. jmo

 

[Steely Dan]

Not a vet of anything but domestic violence and agg assault, but as someone diagnosed a long time ago with PTSD, and still often suffering symptoms today, this infuriates me. What burns the most is the remark about "what emotional support do you need eating breakfast?".

Well you know what, you jerk? Sometimes you need a lot. Sometimes you need a lot just to get out of bed. Never mind have the courage (yes, courage) to leave your house and enter a restaurant, or any other public establishment. It's damn hard. And some days, I tell ya, if not for my kids and my cats (who refuse to be leashed like this sweet little service dog... Or I'd definitely take them out with me! Snooty kitties lol :snooty: ), I wouldn't leave the house, never mind have the mental strength to go to a restaurant.

I can totally forgive the skepticism of the dog being a service dog. Wrong, but forgivable... But the complete lack of simple human compassion in that one line about emotional support to eat breakfast... It's devastating. Really. To be so dismissive of another human being's pain and problems.

The guy even showed the owner his paperwork.

BBM

I hate people who think they know more about medical conditions than doctors do. I met an old friend who I worked for years ago recently. I told him I was on SSDI and he said; "You look fine." (in an insulting way) This is a guy I stayed up all night, off the clock, with another employee to clean the store because his supervisor was coming the next day. I put in 70 hour weeks when an emergency arose. He called me on a Sunday afternoon to come and help him, I came over immediately.

So I :censored: busted my :butthead: for this guy and he accuses me of goldbricking. :stormingmad:

unfortunately this happens all the time. I have a family member who is blind and we were refused a hotel room once they found out we came with a service animal. This was a pricey top name hotel in Houston. They ushered us to the door with big burly doormen. I was frightened. Angry but frightened. This story about the vet makes me very angry and I feel the owner apologized because of his profits. JMO. Fake service animal? He knew better.

You should have called the police. Refusing a blind person's seeing eye dog anywhere, as far as I know, is illegal. You might even have had a case against them.

 

[momrids6]

so here's a hypothetical: suppose another patron is allergic to dogs; suppose that patron is already seated, eating their meal - then what???

or suppose another customer simply does not relish the idea of dog hair landing on their food?

The woman wearing the half gallon of dollar store perfume, the older lady with half a cat's worth of cat hair on her clothes, the dirt covered construction worker, the guy with horrible BO, the loud dude who talks on his cellphone throughout your meal, the family with crying kids- i.e... the general public.

The vet with the dog is no more bothersome compared to any or all of the above, imo.

ETA: Personally- he can sit next to my hearing impaired self, and my Korean Vet Dad who is in a wheelchair, my hearing impaired kids, my 2 job working long haired husband, my disabled son with grass covered boots from his mowing business, and my mom who always has a few husky hairs attached to some article of her clothing.

 

[Steely Dan]

There is a rampant problem with people claiming ptsd for benefits who get the "service animals" for credibility and sympathy and because they can. It's been going on for decades. I know of a woman who claimed her ferrets to be service animals -- IN a lawsuit. jmo

Whether or not someone deserves a service animal is not your job to judge. It is a legal process. Some people may abuse it, but there are real people with real problems. Did you spend 21 years in the military so people could write posts like yours?

Did you spend any time getting shot at, having friends die around you? Have you ever been to Iraq to help a people just freed from tyranny?

If so then maybe you can judge. If you haven't what you just posted is very insensitive.

A friend of mine went to see "Saving Private Ryan" when it first came out. She said after seeing the movie she finally understood why her grandfather would wake up screaming in the middle of the night. War causes deeper mental scars than even our government is willing to admit. JMO

 

[Steely Dan]

The woman wearing the half gallon of dollar store perfume, the older lady with half a cat's worth of cat hair on her clothes, the dirt covered construction worker, the guy with horrible BO, the loud dude who talks on his cellphone throughout your meal, the family with crying kids- i.e... the general public.

The vet with the dog is no more bothersome compared to any or all of the above, imo.

IIRC, those animals are taught to lie on the floor and not make noise.

 

[Karmady]

The woman wearing the half gallon of dollar store perfume, the older lady with half a cat's worth of cat hair on her clothes, the dirt covered construction worker, the guy with horrible BO, the loud dude who talks on his cellphone throughout your meal, the family with crying kids- i.e... the general public.

The vet with the dog is no more bothersome compared to any or all of the above, imo.

Exactly. I resent the fact that because I don't have a medical label and federal funding, I can't bring my pets anywhere -- especially restaurants. I guess they're unhygienic unless they're not?

 

[Ausgirl]

IIRC, those animals are taught to lie on the floor and not make noise.

*doesn't make insensitive comment regarding ill behaved children*

Phew. Go go gadget self control.

 

[MissJ]

That's quite strange to me since eating at home is much, MUCH cheaper and far more convenient. I would think that going to the market to buy food to cook for breakfast would be similarly therapeutic and way less expensive. So would be going to the library or the post office. Or even walking down the street in your neighborhood. Eating in a restaurant is never a necessity and there are plenty of ways to interact with people without going to a restaurant.

Point being he can eat out if he wants to. I like to eat out and don't have to worry about what it costs. I would think going to a small restaurant much less traumatic than a store of any kind. But thats my opinion.

 

[Karmady]

Whether or not someone deserves a service animal is not your job to judge. It is a legal process. Some people may abuse it, but there are real people with real problems. Did you spend 21 years in the military so people could write posts like yours?

Did you spend any time getting shot at, having friends die around you? Have you ever been to Iraq to help a people just freed from tyranny?

If so then maybe you can judge. If you haven't what you just posted is very insensitive.

A friend of mine went to see "Saving Private Ryan" when it first came out. She said after seeing the movie she finally understood why her grandfather would wake up screaming in the middle of the night. War causes deeper mental scars than even our government is willing to admit. JMO

The woman with the ferrets wasn't a combat veteran (or a veteran at all as far as I know) and, while I have not personally served in the military, I very strongly support veterans. My college roommate is career air force and both she and her son have been in Afghanistan this past five years or more in active service (her son) or her (as a contractor since she retired -- well under 50!). My uncle was marine in Viet Nam and in my work I interact with WWII vets almost daily. I don't have any doubt that it's traumatic to be in combat. But there's HUGE abuse of the diagnosis (mostly non-military, but it's not exclusive) and that's just a fact. And if I'm complaining about not being able to go out to breakfast v.not being able to step out my front door, there's a credibility and need issue that needs to be addressed. No one has the absolute right to have their ability to eat in a restuarant funded by taxpayers. Dining out is not a "right." It's entertainment, diversion, indulgence...whatever you want to call it. jmo

eta: and actually, it sometimes is my job to judge -- or at least take a position, on whether a service animal is a service animal. The ferret lady situation is a case in point

 

[MissJ]

Having disability "label" doesn't come with benefits. No one wants to have PTSD or be blind either. JMO

 

[Karmady]

Point being he can eat out if he wants to. I like to eat out and don't have to worry about what it costs. I would think going to a small restaurant much less traumatic than a store of any kind. But thats my opinion.

My opinion is that eating at a restaurant is a costly luxury and that if the supermarket is more traumatic than a restuarant, a service dog isn't solving that problem. jmo

 

[Karmady]

Having disability "label" doesn't come with benefits. No one wants to have PTSD or be blind either. JMO

The diagnosis is necessary to the benefits. So if you don't have a physical injury, PTSD is an alternative. Some people actually have it. Others claim to have it for the benefits because it's not provable that they don't. jmo

 

[MissJ]

A service animal doesn't solve a problem. I have a wheel chair but it doesn't give me the ability to walk. JMO

 

[momrids6]

ETA: Personally- he can sit next to my hearing impaired self, and my Korean Vet Dad who is in a wheelchair, my hearing impaired kids, my 2 job working long haired husband, my disabled son with grass covered boots from his mowing business, and my mom who always has a few husky hairs attached to some article of her clothing.

A service animal doesn't solve a problem. I have a wheel chair but it doesn't give me the ability to walk. JMO

Don't even get me started with the wheelchair bias; god help the person who has a choice comment about my Dad & his in a restaurant...

Legally, 5 out of my family (above) qualify for a service dog. None of us have one- because none of us need one- yet. And most service dogs are donated by a non-proft, or paid for by the family.

 

[Karmady]

A service animal doesn't solve a problem. I have a wheel chair but it doesn't give me the ability to walk. JMO

The dog in question was for ptsd, not a physical disability. If you have physical disability rather than ptsd, this conversation isn't about you (general you). jmo

 

[Steely Dan]

The woman with the ferrets wasn't a combat veteran (or a veteran at all as far as I know) and, while I have not personally served in the military, I very strongly support veterans. My college roommate is career air force and both she and her son have been in Afghanistan this past five years or more in active service (her son) or her (as a contractor since she retired -- well under 50!). My uncle was marine in Viet Nam and in my work I interact with WWII vets almost daily. I don't have any doubt that it's traumatic to be in combat. But there's HUGE abuse of the diagnosis (mostly non-military, but it's not exclusive) and that's just a fact. And if I'm complaining about not being able to go out to breakfast v.not being able to step out my front door, there's a credibility and need issue that needs to be addressed. No one has the absolute right to have their ability to eat in a restuarant funded by taxpayers. Dining out is not a "right." It's entertainment, diversion, indulgence...whatever you want to call it. jmo

eta: and actually, it sometimes is my job to judge -- or at least take a position, on whether a service animal is a service animal. The ferret lady situation is a case in point

My opinion is that eating at a restaurant is a costly luxury and that if the supermarket is more traumatic than a restuarant, a service dog isn't solving that problem. jmo

The diagnosis is necessary to the benefits. So if you don't have a physical injury, PTSD is an alternative. Some people actually have it. Others claim to have it for the benefits because it's not provable that they don't. jmo

So You've never served, but you have enough training to decide who and who shouldn't have service dogs and where they should go. Yes, people abuse the system. For some reason you feel qualified to make diagnoses based on very little information.

You also seem to believe you have the right to judge people based on how they spend their money. He can do anything with his money he wants. Anyone who's served 21 years in the army can spend their money on anything they want. Actually anyone can. What do you spend your money on? I wanna tell you what you shouldn't be doing with it. JMO

You're first post is odd given your attitude about service animals for veterans. JMO

One more question, what is the full back story on the woman who claimed ferrets as service animals?"

 

[MissJ]

I didn't make it about me. A service animal isn't a cure. Its an aid. Like a wheel chair. JMO

 

[Steely Dan]

The dog in question was for ptsd, not a physical disability. If you have physical disability rather than ptsd, this conversation isn't about you (general you). jmo

Just out of curiosity, what school did you get your psychological PHD from?