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Yep. Some days I don't have the spoons. I always correct him though even when it takes a lot out of me because I'm really paranoid about him developing bad habits, and he's always been a bit on the flaky side, bless him. But I'm also good at shaming the human through the dog without talking to...

@joeylittle The business brief and any of the ADA law cards marketed on Amazon or gear sites will have: Which is the call line with access specialists designed for information gathering or for access issues. I made special cards that address basic etiquette in addition to the law, but they...

Yeah, we also have a couple versions of etiquette/do not distract cards I've made (one version for general public and one for service professionals) and I find it really helpful. If nothing else, handing someone a card will give you a small window where you can walk away most of the time. It...

Yeah. I've gotten up in a couple people's faces. And the barking really sets me off. Like really? You're a grown adult, and you're going to BARK at my dog? Ugh. Yes. We work SO hard on tucking and him being small. He doesn't have a block command, but I used to be straight up stepped on in...

There's this weird dichotomy, I think especially for early trauma people with service dogs. At least I've observed the following: we learned to be small and invisible and take up no space, and we learned that other people were always going to take our space and safety and we couldn't say...

Since we're weighing in on the petting issue, I'll throw in my couple cents too: A lot of handlers who don't allow petting, it's because of the distractability of the dog. The dogs have been trained to ignore other people, and to only seek attention from their handler, because they need to be...

I have actually responded before to "That's an awesome shirt!" with "Oh, he knows" (my stock response to "What a pretty dog!") without thinking because it is legitimately all I ever hear, ever, unless someone is asking me a question about him.

That's all fine and well in theory, but in practice unless you have some way to avoid it it's not that simple. For example, we had someone at a crosswalk ask the same question three times while getting more agitated. I answered three times before beginning to ignore him. He spent the full time...

Absolutely. I'm currently in a grad program for mental health, and they asked about how I was with setting healthy boundaries and I legitimately lost my shit and started laughing and told the interviewer that my entire life is telling people no they can't pet my dog, no, I'm not going to tell...

I don't think I've actually had any "gatekeepers" know what questions they can ask well enough to ask both questions. That's a really sad commentary on service dog education right there. The program my dog was trained through does annual re-certs because they're ADI accredited though, and one...

Yeah, he started out with several mobility things that his organization trains before they're placed and we've kept those up for the occasions where I need it. Our most common work is a combination of what people think of as tasks for PTSD and for autism. But my other disorders have made it so...

It also is maybe helpful to understand that different classifications of service dogs don't actually hold any legal bearing.* Because all that any of the names do is give handlers and programs ways to talk about what sort of task work that dog might do. A "Mobility SD" is going to be different...

Yeah. I've only had one person not shut up pretty quickly with that response. She was going on about how she was only asking because she has such and such problem and they'd considered a service dog (while physically blocking my way) and I replied "That's really great. It doesn't change the fact...

I was just re-reading this thread (super validating, thanks guys) and I'm so glad I'm not the only one who does this. I'll go a few days without any pain and not many PTSD symptoms, especially now that we have a schedule and routine and don't go new places often. And then I'll have a bad pain...

It absolutely is. I'm very comfortable telling people they can't pet him. All the questions are harder. Especially since the longer you talk the higher the risk of the person being rude, confrontational, or trying to invade your or the dog's space. I'm having some success with a variation on how...

A hundred times this. We've only been a team a couple years, and as far as I can tell we've been pretty lucky. We've only had 3 major access issues, and I've only been attacked verbally twice. There's all the day to day frustration of people being clueless assholes, but at least the big deal...

I got my grades back. This semester was really rough but I still managed to pull all As.

Mine just arrived this morning

Yes, still waiting. :)

This is incorrect. From the ADA Service Dog FAQ: "Q7. What questions can a covered entity's employees ask to determine if a dog is a service animal? A. In situations where it is not obvious that the dog is a service animal, staff may ask only two specific questions: (1) is the dog a service...

Mines sent.

I think it's also an important distinction that "public access" is based on places of public accommodation, which is determined by the ADA and state definitions of such. Service dogs and ESAs both are granted access to rental housing and aircrafts under the appropriate laws since neither of...

I agree with what's been said. I know you're looking more for social media, which I think may be too complex to filter. What has worked for me sometimes is to use a child filter or a timer like forest that blocks certain sites sort of as a reminder. You can still get around them, but there are...

There are a lot of types of therapists who aren't diagnosis based and use diagnosis primarily for insurance purposes or if a consult is needed. Diagnosis is a common language for professionals, but to say you have a certain diagnosis doesn't say how you're experiencing that diagnosis or what...

Right now, I'll take that. This has been one of those things that makes me feel crazy and alone and has been causing me to isolate and to sabotage one of the best things I have in my life right now. And at least I know why I have such a block. So frustrating how knowing doesn't equal...