Under the American with Disabilities Act, a service dog is defined as any dog individually trained to do work or perform specific tasks for the benefit of an individual with a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability.
A service dog user turned to the "Am I The A**hole" (AITA) subReddit for feedback.
DismalClock213 asked:
"AITA for 'interfering' with a 'service dog' (SD)?"
The original poster (OP) explained:
"Last night my partner and I were out walking our two dogs (my current service dog (SD) and my retired SD). While walking next to one of the apartment building I spotted a medium sized black dog (probably around 50lb) walking by itself."
"I watched for a few minutes to see if there was an owner anywhere and say no one. At this point I was concerned it might be a lost dog so I had my partner take both our dogs back to the apartment while I went to investigate."
"Once I got about 15ft away from the dog, she came up to me. I gave her some pets and gently grabbed her collar in case she tried to bolt (if she was lost I didn’t want her to get more lost if she ran)."
"I saw a lady on a first floor balcony and asked if she knew the dog. She did not, so I decided to move on and go get a leash so I could go door to door and find where the dog got away from."
"I made it almost around the building when I hear someone above me. It was a lady and what looked to be her teenage son. She hollered down to me that the dog was theirs, it’s 'Service trained,' and she’s fine."
"That’s when I heard a whistle and noticed who I assume was the dad coming down the stairs. I let the dog go so it could run home. Then the guy starts asking me a bunch of questions (never coming down past the second floor)."
"Him: 'did she come up to you?'.”
"Me: 'Yes'.”
"Him: 'did you approach her?'.”
"Me: 'Yeah cuz she was alone and I didn’t see anyone around so I assumed she was lost'.”
"Him: 'she only approached you because you approached her, do you even live around here'.”
"Me: 'yes I live in the building next door'.”
"At this point he told me how I was weird of approaching the dog and that if I see her again she is fine. She is trained to come back. I told him it’s not fine cuz there is a leash law. I heard him mutter something, but I was walking away at that point."
"I unfortunately overthink alot and can’t help but feel like I should have just left the dog alone but if it was lost I couldn’t live with myself knowing I left it out there for god knows what to happen to it."
"Also as a SD handler myself, I would never let my dog go down three floors by itself to use the restroom because 1. There is a leash law (SDs can be off leash ONLY if it interferes with a task, going potty doesn’t count as a task) 2. They are still a dog and can make mistakes, if they are off leash you open up that risk and 3. By doing this they are not picking up after the dog and the apartment is now surrounded by poop which is also illegal to not pick up after your dog."
OP later added:
"I’ve had some people ask how I can send my SD away with my partner and why didn’t my partner go after the dog so I could stay with my SD."
"My disabilities are mostly psychiatric with PTSD and some mobility issues. My SD mainly helps when I am having bad mental of physical days, but I sometimes have good days for both and can function almost fully."
"Luckily thanks to figuring out meds and having lots of therapy the good days are happening more frequently! (I’m hoping someday I may not need an SD anymore and my SD can retire and be just a pet)."
"When this event happened I was having a good day. So felt ok sending them upstairs for their safety in case the other dog was not friendly."
"As for why I took point instead of my partner, I am a former vet tech and have way more experience with potentially aggressive or fearful animals. Plus I am a lot smaller and less intimidating than my partner so it made more sense for me to approach the animal in case it was scared."
"I also have a bad habit of forgetting my limits and have put myself in lots of bad situations to help animals over the years. One time when I was teen I walked through the pouring rain for over 3 hours cuz I saw a lost dog and ran after it. I was miserable, my body hurt horribly, I got super sick and pushed my body way further than I should have but I helped get that dog home."
"Another time as a teen I found an intact male cat in our back yard that was extremely sweet with no collar. It had all the indicators of an indoor cat. I was holding him when my friend brought the kennel out so we could go to the shelter to have the microchip scanned."
"He flipped out and tore my hand up really good but I never let go and put him in the kennel. Turned out to be a neighbors cat that got out and they hadn’t been able to find him. They were extremely grateful. I ended up going to the emergency room for IV antibiotics cuz my hand swelled to the size of a softball."
"I may not be the smartest when it comes to making decisions about my health but if it helps get a scared animal home I will put them first every time."
The OP summed up why they might be the a**hole in their situation.
"The owners were nearby and the dog was well behaved, so I worry that maybe I should have just left well enough alone. I am concerned that I may have been a Karen as well for hollering back about the leash law."
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
- INFO - more information needed
Redditors decided the OP was not the a**hole (NTA).
"NTA, and also file a report with their building manager about an intentional off-leash unsupervised dog pooping wherever it wants, their building manager properly won't be happy and will put a stop to it." ~ Ambitious-Insect-331
"NTA. Even if the dog was 110% trained to the point of being a robot, doesn’t mean it’s okay or safe. There are cars, kids, other dogs, people who are afraid, you name it. Your response was valid and if it happens again, maybe bring it up to apartment management if the two buildings are under the same company." ~ dizzyfawn
"When I was a kid we had a lab, really the most obedient dog ever, super loyal, would follow my dad to the end of the earth. He jogged with her off leash because she was so good and followed him everywhere and so friendly and wouldn't even chase squirrels."
"One day she got distracted because there was a donut right on the sidewalk, and he called her to come. But he has turned around the corner and when she looked up she thought he had gone across the street, so she ran across the street to find him and got hit by a car."
"She survived, but lost the use of one of her legs. Even the best dog in the world can get hurt off leash—it isn't about the quality of training, it's that dogs can't be left unattended outside." ~ Music_withRocks_In
"NTA. People walk up to dogs ALL THE TIME."
"I would absolutely be worried about a dog that had no owner around, not on a leash. I would want to get the dog to safety and its owner."
"Those people are neglectful." ~ Beanz4ever
"NTA and I guarantee the guy doesn't even think you're weird, he just wanted to put you on the defensive before you could criticize his family for letting the dog free roam." ~ brewcatz
The OP provided an update:
"I sent an email reporting the incident to the property management office, I wasn’t able to go into the office today cuz they were closed, but I will go in tomorrow."
I walked my dogs around the building today like I usually do (there is a dirt path that goes behind the building right next to mine and that has been our walking path for over a year now) and one of his dogs started barking at mine from his deck so he looked down, saw me, and started recording me."
"I asked him why he was recording me and asked him what his problem is and he wouldn’t respond, just stared at me so I walked away, when I went around between the buildings to where my stairwell is, he had come out of his apartment and was on the stairwell just staring at me again."
"I know I probably should have just walked up the stairs, but I got frustrated and yelled to him 'what is your problem with me, I thought your dog was lost, you had your dog off leash! You obviously see I live here, leave me alone' he continued to stonewall me and just stare, so I walked up the stairs as fast as I could just in case he tried to follow (luckily he couldn’t see into the stairwell to see which unit I’m in unless he was walked over) so I got in without him seeing my unit."
"I’m now spiraling a bit cuz I just don’t feel safe with how this grown man was recording and staring at me. I want to thank you guys again for making me feel better about trying to help the dog and helping me see I didn’t do anything wrong when that happened, but now I’m feeling like I messed up by ever even caring about the dog cuz I’m worried about what that owner may do."
OP tried to do the right thing. But the dog's owners likely know they're breaking the rules of their building complex and local laws.
Letting the complex management handle the situation is probably best.
