Lately it seems as if the news is a little depressing. If you live in the state of Illinois, well…hearing that your state has no budget, your alma mater is facing major budget cuts, it can be a real drag. That’s not even adding in all the other news out there…so, maybe humor is a good remedy for that, or a quick fix to take your mind off of what’s been going on.
I saw a blog post that was shared on Facebook yesterday and I laughed so.much. Sometimes there’s a lot that one can scroll past on Facebook, but this one caught my attention…”Service Dogs and Boobs–A Complete Guide.”
I know what you are thinking…”that seems inappropriate.”
The post focuses on how awkward it can be encountering someone who doesn’t know how to behave around a service dog.
The author says to treat the service dog like a boob. I’m sorry? What?
There are certain things that no person should or would (hopefully) ever do in regard to boobs. The following is a list of things that if you ever said or did any of them, you would earn yourself a well deserved slap.
“AHHH! BOOBS!”
“Am I allowed to sit next to you? I don’t want your boobs to bite me or anything.”
“Why do you have those boobs with you? I”m just not so sure they are necessary.”
“Are you sure your boobs are real? You aren’t blind or in a wheelchair. How do I know you don’t have fake ones?”
Do you see where the writer is going with this??
There have been many times where we get into a situation where people aren’t sure if we should have Memphis with us (like overhearing “is that dog going to eat off the restaurant floor?”). People wonder if we really do take Memphis everywhere (and most times the answer is yes). It is totally normal for us to step out of our home, take a road trip, go to a restaurant, pick up kids from school, make a Target run, or do anything else we would normally do with a service dog.
What the writer of this post is trying to say is this: don’t be that person. Don’t be the person who makes comments about service dogs. People who have a disability already feel like they stick out like a sore thumb. Staring, pointing, shouting…all because of a dog makes that so.uncomfortable.
It was so hard for Sam to go out in public pre-Memphis. I would see how he’d fidget, focus on a challenge coin, his phone, anything but what we were really doing. He didn’t want to be around people. Now that he has Memphis, that is bearable. We can go to the mall, we can make a Target run…don’t get me wrong…we still get the stares. There are still people who follow us around in a store, and there are still people who point and shout, “A dog!”
Memphis has been trained very well. He knows when his vest is on he has an important job to do. If you see service dogs out, please try not to distract them. I know there’s also sometimes confusion around service dogs–for example, seeing a Chihuahua with a vest delightfully walking around TJ Maxx makes me question if that dog can actually perform a task, but…I wouldn’t just walk up to a child and start talking or playing with him/her—you shouldn’t just walk up to a dog and try to pet it. As the author of the blog post said, you wouldn’t do that with someone’s chest.
Sometimes we have to find humor in our day—even if it is something silly or something that might make us giggle or wonder “did I just read that” (because I am thinking–did I just type this?). Smiling, laughing, that can help if you are having a down day. Trust me, I’ve been in situations that make me want to scream or cry, but usually a little laugh comes from that…something happens and I smile or feel so much better about things after a laugh (hugs are good for this too).
So, enjoy your Thursday. Remember to find the good, look for humor, and smile more often. 🙂