It is not out of the ordinary for people to get into arguments and in most cases, they aren’t about anything that is overly serious. Typically, those arguments come and go and we will forget about them by the time the next argument comes up. In today’s world, however, it seems as if everybody has the ability to argue on an even wider scale, thanks to easy access to a camera phone and social media. Even though the altercation may be mild, it can quickly turn into a very serious matter.
This was easily seen in an altercation that took place at a mall in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It is a classic example of how something relatively small can suddenly get blown out of proportion. It involved some misplaced anger over a simple request, but one that should’ve just been let go when the answer was given. It involved a service dog and the misunderstanding ended up escalating into a viral video. Thousands of people are now giving their opinion on the subject and it has certainly reached a worldwide audience.
Megan Stoff is the dog handler that posted the video on Facebook. Since it was posted, it has been viewed more than 2 million times and people are alarmed at the aggression that the mother is showing. You don’t need to know much to understand that service dogs are there to assist individuals who have special requirements or circumstances. When they are working, they are not to be touched or distracted. You may make a polite request but if the answer ‘no’ is given, you should accept it and walk away. This mother obviously didn’t understand.
There was a meet up taking place at the mall and they know the other dog handlers. One of the individuals in the group, Ciarán Williamson, cannot figure out why the mother was so upset. After mall security confronted and called on them, they decided they had had enough and went home. Ciarán talked about his perspective of being a dog handler: “I don’t necessarily mind being asked to pet my dog, though usually, I have to tell people no,” he told us. “I don’t really get upset by having to do this unless it’s a particularly stressful day or environment and I’m having trouble doing what I’ve set out to do in the first place.”
“I’d rather people ask than just lean in and try to grab her, which happens every day… but I don’t always have the energy to explain what she’s doing or why she can’t be petted. I’m autistic and sometimes just can’t speak very efficiently at all so I can’t explain even if I wanted to. I might shake my head no, or indicate in some other short way not to pet her or talk to her, and I just want to have that respected. People also often take pictures of us without asking and that makes me really super uncomfortable, I don’t want people to do that at all.”
“I guess I just don’t want people to assume I am able to divert my attention to interact with them how they want me to, and that if someone has a service dog in the first place it means they’re disabled and probably having a hard time already. Using judgment about whether it’s appropriate to ask to pet helps (does the dog already have a vest on that says not to pet? Is it really loud and busy and chaotic of an atmosphere? Does the service dog handler look uncomfortable or distracted?) I have let people pet her, but in really specific situations where I can focus on making sure I keep her attention and I know I won’t need her to work for me at that moment.”
“Unfortunately I feel like people don’t consider me at all when they ask to interact with my service dog the majority of the time. Usually people just lean in and talk to her or try to pet her without even acknowledging me… They also often just assume I’m rude instead of something out of my control (like I can’t hear them, which happens a lot in overstimulating environments). I am concerned about people continuing to do these things because it’s really common.”
“My dog Clover is doing very well in training though, she has a Facebook page I started for her recently so people could see her and ask me questions about her and stuff there if they’re curious. I like talking about my service dog, just not necessarily when I’m trying to go grocery shopping! She deals well with strangers approaching but she is a very friendly and outgoing dog that enjoys people so attention from other people can be a big distraction for her and it’s something we have to work on all the time. I don’t think people consider that when they get upset about not being allowed to pet her.”
People have a lot to say about the situation:
