[NAGDU] “service dog” off leash

[Nancy VanderBrink]

Hi all,
I encountered something odd & concerning in the grocery store.  A woman came up to me accompanied by a dog that was wearing a vest.  I did not have my dog with me at the time because I had taken an Uber and I was getting groceries.  Her  dog comes up and starts sniffing my pants. I noticed that the space between her and the dog was quite large so I out of curiosity asked if the dog was on a leash. She said no the dog was not and that it was a service dog that detected seizures.

I was concerned because it’s a dog after-all and having no leash in a crowded grocery store seemed odd.  My husband said later I should have asked where she got the dog but she could’ve said it was owner trained.

It may actually be a service dog and be legitimate but the reason I am even mentioning this in the first place is that I don’t see how she can claim to have full control of the dog when it is not on a leash. Someone actually said that they thought that the leash ordinance would come into affect in the situation and the police could be called but I have a funny feeling they would hesitate to do anything because she could sue.

Thoughts?

Nancy



Please forgive the typos as this message was most likely generated using voice dictation
Nancy Irwin