Anything about service animals always brings out a lot of armchair experts. But just because people can look up the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), doesn’t mean everyone understands it.
And the ADA only applies to the United States.
Some people do abuse access regulations put in place for service animals because they want to bring their pets with them everywhere.
But others harass disabled people because they think “service dog” means “guide dog” and react inappropriately to any situation that doesn’t “look” like they think it should.
Every service dog isn’t a retriever wearing a harness walking beside their owner.
Some people opt for smaller dog breeds as alert animals because of their living situation or ability to care for a big dog. An alert animal is trained to monitor things like heart rates, blood pressure, blood sugar, or the warning signs for loss of consciousness or seizures.
Animals trained to aid with mobility issues may work entirely off leash or tether as the service they provide involves retrieving objects, opening and closing doors, and turning things on or off.
In the United States under the ADA, only dogs are fully recognized and protected as service animals. Some situations do allow the authorization of miniature horses in mobility assistance roles for their sure-footedness and ability to pull.
Capuchin monkeys and some bird species have been trained and proven effective as service animals, but they are not covered under federal ADA protections.
A parent who took exception to two service dogs in a public park turned to the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subReddit for feedback.
Elegant-Climate-6953 asked:
“AITA for telling a wheelchair bound lady her service dogs should not be at the playground?”
The original poster (OP) explained:
“Last Friday, my wife and I took our 2 kids under 3 to the playground area in our neighborhood park. This was a rare Friday where there were no commitments, as we usually take them to play first thing in the morning.”
“As we approached, we noticed there were probably a dozen kids there and 2 large labs running in the grassy area unleashed. My wife and I are like ‘the dogs shouldn’t be there unleashed’, but our little guy was excited to be at the playground.”
“So we continued. We let our boy run around and the younger one we put in a swing. Some parents that were there started talking to us. They are essentially one big neighborhood parent group and meet up weekly. I didn’t know anyone in this group.”
“My son climbed a structure and went down a slide. Once he was off the slide, there were no kids at all on that structure. The lady that had the 2 dogs there—I still don’t know if she was a parent or not—let the dogs go onto the playground structure to go down the slide.”
“I spoke up to this lady and told her to keep her dogs off the equipment. She told me they were her service dogs.”
“I said, ‘I don’t think service dogs play on playground equipment’. She snaps back to me that service dogs are allowed to take breaks. She continued saying, ‘we are here every week and no one has ever complained’.”
“I tell her that not everyone is comfortable around dogs and tell her, ‘I think it’s selfish to let your dogs on the equipment, especially when children are around’.”
“Some parents supported her and said as much to my wife and me.”
“She told me that if it’s only an issue for me, then I should make sure my kids are comfortable around dogs before bringing them around places dogs are allowed to be.”
“I told this lady that she was ‘insane’ and ‘completely missed my point’. My wife and I left after this.”
“We noticed a Facebook post about us—that we have not engaged with—and it seems it’s 50/50 on if we are the a**holes.”
The OP summed up their situation.
“AITA for telling a lady to keep her service dogs away? I’m not finding any park rules or laws against dogs being on the playground equipment or off leash in the park.”
“But common sense to me is it shouldn’t be allowed.”
“I might be the a**hole because I disrupted the community group with my demands and was policing who and what was accessing the playground.”
Redditors weighed in by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Redditors were divided in their opinions, however many cited misinformations as their reason for voting NTA.
“Those aren’t actual service dogs. Outside the house, they should always be on a harness and on duty, not running around. NTA.” ~ rainyhawk
“NTA. According to the ADA, ‘A service animal must be under the control of its handler. Under the ADA, service animals must be harnessed, leashed, or tethered—meaning sitting/laying down/standing and not running, jumping, playing, barking, engaging with strangers—at the side of the owner/handler’.”
“They’re obviously not service dogs.” ~ MommyBrontosaurus
“Service dogs don’t run wild all over the place. Their attention has to be on their owner. People also don’t need multiple service pets.”
“Emotional support animals are NOT trained service animals. There is a big difference.” ~ lilacbananas23
“I highly doubt they’re service dogs. There are a lot more entitled a**holes trying to pass off their pets as service dogs than there are people with actual service dogs.”
“It’s not impossible, but the vast majority of the time these turn out not to be service dogs. Someone needed to call her out.” ~ PerturbedHamster
And some declared no “real” disabled person would ever have two service dogs when voting NTA.
“NTA. These sound like regular dogs. She’s got TWO service dogs? Yeah, sure lady.” ~ Friendly_Fall_
“Two dogs and neither is closely monitoring her? I agree they are not service dogs. NTA. Disabled people don’t need 2 and both her behavior and the dogs’ behavior leads me to this conclusion.” ~ Kinky_Lissah
But others corrected their misconceptions.
“Two service dogs is very much possible. When your service dog is going to retire, you train a new one. This means it’s likely you’re out with both of them.”
“She was also right in the fact that service dogs are allowed rest and play, they are not machines.” ~ Tango_Owl
“Those who train their own service dogs (which is absolutely a valid thing) may well have an older and a younger dog at the same time.” ~ clauclauclaudia
“Usually, if someone has 2 service dogs, it means one is reaching retirement age, or the younger dog is in training for someone else.” ~ oceanduciel
“So much ignorance in these comments. Some disabilities require the dog not be on a harness, leash or tether when it’s working.”
“Like the animals trained to retrieve objects for an owner with mobility issues. Like, IDK, someone using a wheelchair.” ~ MohawMais
While others questioned why the OP decided he was the self-appointed playground police (YTA).
“YTA. You personally, as an adult, had safeguarding concerns when you saw dogs off-leash, but your kids were excited, so you were forced to stay? Right, the 3-year-olds make the safety decisions in this family. Duly noted.”
“FYI, every service dog owner has a ‘go play!’ command to let the dog know they are in a safe situation so they can go off duty and let off some steam. Dogs are not machines, and those quoting ADA (AMERICANS with Disabilities Act) regs as the ultimate authority are reminded that Reddit is an international forum.”
“You say ‘Not everyone is comfortable around dogs’. Agreed. Such people would be wise to avoid situations where they can clearly see dogs, where there’s no signage banning dogs, and to visit places where there are no dogs allowed instead.”
“You say, ‘It’s selfish to let your dogs use the equipment’. OPs narrative doesn’t mention any crying children too terrified to go near the slide, but does mention the owner made the dogs wait until no child was on the slide. I’d be willing to bet the kids were laughing and pointing at the playing dogs.”
“OP, you wouldn’t be the a**hole if the playground equipment was fenced in and surrounded by ‘no dogs’ signs; if the dogs were out of control; if the dogs were barking, growling or snapping at the children; if the dogs were defecating in the play area; if you noted a single interaction between either dog and anyone other than their owner.”
“You don’t mention any of these things.”
“It sounds like, according to you, well-trained service dogs were playing by themselves, not involving the children directly, and the owner was in attendance and paying attention to them. A lady in a wheelchair was enjoying seeing the children and letting her dogs play, and you made her feel unwelcome, called her selfish and insane, and then implied she was lying about them being service dogs.”
“No wonder at least half of the other parents disagreed and felt strongly enough to post on Facebook about your behavior. You don’t even mention your kids were upset; it’s just you projecting your fear onto the situation.”
“I hope the lady is still going to the park; it would give you a chance to go back and apologise.” ~ Hivemind_alpha
“YTA. They let the service dogs run around a bit and go down the slide in their time off and after making them wait their turn? Big deal!”
“OP sounds stuck up and entitled beyond belief. A playground is a cat litter box in the night and bathroom/playground for wild animals as well. A dog going down the slide will not affect anything in that department.” ~ Mr_Morrigan
“YTA, you said yourself she waited until there were no humans on the play equipment.” ~ Mundane-Tea8842
“YTA. Is it really that big a deal to be inclusive when it doesn’t hurt you at all? Some people just have to be sour about everything.” ~ Creepy_Push8629
“YTA—how does it feel to hate any kind of joy in life for others?” ~ buttweave
“YTA, unless it’s posted that dogs are not allowed. According to OP she only let the dogs on it when there were no kids on it.” ~ Fr1501
“YTA. The woman’s disability isn’t relevant. Neither is whether or not she’s a parent. Whether the dogs are working animals isn’t relevant. Your personal opinion isn’t relevant. Neither is hers.”
“The rules of the park are relevant. Parks (public and private) have rules and regulations.”
“First…it’s wheelchair user, not bound. It seemed like a common mistake until I read all the rest of your post.”
“It sounds like you went to a public park. Not a private one. ‘Rules and Regulations’ are usually posted at both.”
“What are the rules regarding pets at the park? You didn’t mention them. Only shared your opinion that the pets shouldn’t be on the playground.” ~ mrslII
“YTA. It sounds like the dogs were well-behaved, well-trained, and the lady waited until kids had vacated the playset before letting the dogs go down the slide.”
“I’m unclear as to why you felt the need to comment or even interact with this woman if she and her dogs weren’t causing any issues other than simply being present and using the park as it was intended?”
“I would be more understanding if the dogs were knocking into kids, upsetting them, or acting aggressive, but it sounds like you created a problem that wasn’t there in the first place.”
“Granted, it’s hard to say considering I don’t know what the leash regulations are for your area, but unless the park explicitly states ‘no dogs allowed’ or that dogs must be leashed at all times, I fail to see the issue.” ~ endofprayer
“I find it strange that you’d take such a stance the first time you ever visited that park, especially once you noticed this is also the regular parent hangout/meetup and NO ONE ELSE IS CONFRONTING HER.”
“Do you even know if the woman in the wheelchair is also a parent? It’s obvious she was there before you & no one spoke up or had an issue.”
“Do you really think you’re the pinnacle of parenting & all the other parents have been slacking off by not speaking up? Are you super parent or just the playground police?” ~ Stormtomcat
“The people whining about this probably also laugh at all the videos online of dogs playing on slides—a lot of dogs like slides and trampolines.”
“Everyone is so focused on debating whether these are service dogs or not. Some of y’all are claiming off-duty service dogs existing in public, or not being on a harness attached to the owner, or having two service dogs aren’t real things either.”
“There’s answers for all those questions/misconceptions, but who cares? Are dogs of any sort allowed to be off-leash in this park? Are dogs allowed in the playground area in this specific park?”
“She said she’s there weekly, and no one has complained—which other parents confirmed, according to OP. OP makes it clear the dogs are following her commands even while off-leash. OP also stated he’s not found anything saying dogs can’t be off-leash in this park or on/around the playground equipment in this park.”
“So OP called her insane just because her behavior doesn’t conform to his personal opinion? Sounds like YTA, STFU and MYOB, dude.” ~ MohawMais
Service dogs always bring out a lot of opinions—some more informed than others.
But if the park in question allows dogs to be off leash—as many parks do where I live—and doesn’t prohibit dogs from being in the playground area, then whether they’re service dogs or not is immaterial.
If neither they nor their owner are breaking any rules, regulations, or laws, MYOB is free, OP.