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A California Restaurant and Service Dog Myths
I am a firm believer in the value of service dogs and the massive difference they can make in the lives of disabled people.
So I was very disturbed by this story.
The tl;dr if you don’t want to read the article is that a couple were refused service because the husband had a psychiatric service dog. The restaurant staff “started to cite information from the ADA that was inaccurate regarding post-traumatic stress disorder.” They all claimed to be managers after the wife requested to talk to one. The staff called the cops on them for being disruptive.
The manager finally said they could stay but, of course, they weren’t about to give this place their money after that. Oh, and that they’re typically pet friendly, but tired because it has “gotten to the point where people bring in chihuahuas with service dog vests.”
Oh man. Let’s unpack this. Because clearly this restaurant owner is believing in two myths:
- A psychiatric service dog is just an emotional support animal.
- Small dogs can’t be service dogs.
Let’s address both of these.