Arrival and Construction:
Last week, I had a doctor’s appointment at a major medical center in St. Louis. I took the Call-A-Ride bus to the appointment and my service dog, JT, did wonderfully on both bus rides. We arrived at the center about 90 minutes early and I decided to walk over to the main lobby to get a coffee. This is about a 4-block walk through a busy medical center campus. When we arrived at the main entrance, we discovered that the entrance was under major construction. JT helped me navigate the detours, construction barricades, plywood ramps, heavy traffic (pedestrian, vehicular, and construction machines), and blocked crosswalks.
Master Level Guide Dog:
Once I got my coffee, I decided to let JT take over to see what he would do. He walked me through the hospital, down an escalator, through the construction zone, and back across campus to my doctor’s office. We also had to cross a double set of light rail train tracks. Nothing fazed him.
Bad Dog:
When we entered the doctor’s waiting room, the front desk person let me know that there was another dog in the waiting room and to make sure I sat on the opposite side of the room because it was not behaving. Since I am visually impaired, I could not see the dog, but I heard it. It barked, whined, growled, and would not stay next to the handler the entire time it was in the waiting room. Once they went back into an exam room, I could still hear it barking at anyone that walked down the hall.
Amazing Staff:
When I got called back, the staff made sure that I was taken a separate way and my exam room was in a different part of the clinic. I could hear the dog barking throughout my entire exam. When it was time for me to go to the lab, the staff asked me to stay in my room until the other dog left. Once they got all clear, I took them to the lab and then checked out.
Bad Dog Backstory:
Before I left, I asked to speak to the facility manager. I talked to her about how amazing the staff was with me and making sure me and my SD were safe. The manager apologized for the other dog. She told me that the dog acts this way every time it is in the clinic. She told me that it is always dirty and aggressive. I asked her why they allowed it in the clinic, and she told me that there was nothing they could do about it per federal law.
Time to Educate:
I took some time to educate her on her and the clinic’s rights regarding asking a service dog to leave due to it being dirty, out of control, and aggressive. I even showed her the ADA flier that explains the two questions and the reasons a business can ask for a service dog to be removed. She was worried about being accused of discrimination if they asked the dog to leave. I told her to document everything and contact the owner and let them know that unless the dog’s behavior changes, the dog is not allowed back. I explained that if my or my service dog were ever attacked in the clinic, they would be liable for damages.
Conclusion:
I read a ton of posts about people working reactive or untrained dogs in public. This causes significant issues for businesses, the public in general, and other service dog teams.