Emotional Support Pooches
24 May 2006
Emotional support dogs are “What’s New” in service pooches.
Move aside lovely Labs and Golden Retriever puppies with your neck signs that read, “Don’t pet me. I’m a service dog in training.”
Because now there are extra special dogs that wear signs around their necks that read, ”I’m an emotional support dog. If you refuse entry to my owner because of ME, we’ll sue you.”
I’ve been thinking I should borrow Helga from my neighbor, Mrs. Vreemont. Helga is a Chihuahua. I carried her around in a tote in the days when I walked five of the neighborhood dogs under the auspices of Tildy’s Doggy Daycare. I carried her because she’s too small to run alongside big pooches.
Think tiny dog either mauled by, or squashed under paw of, big dog. Need I say more about the necessity of shoving Helga in a tote and over my shoulder for our walks?
Unfortunately, Helga was not very good company. Little yippy dogs yip a lot! In short they’re ruddy annoying and pesky. It doesn’t surprise me that big dogs would want to bite their heads off or squash them.
But, I could forgive Helga all her tiny-dog shortcomings if she were to prove a helpful companion along lines of an Emotional Support Dog (ESD).
I can just see it: Helga and me having access to great restaurants, hotels, spas, airplanes, etc. etc. with the knowledge that if we were refused entry, I could threaten litigation. Well, as long as “I’m an emotional support dog, if you refuse entry to my owner because of ME, we’ll sue you” was clearly visible, and everyone involved understood that I couldn’t function in the wider world without my ESD.
I mean this is America, the land of litigation, where you can sue for not being allowed entry to everything without your ESD in tow. I like that, it’s so, um, equitable! It creates a level playing field for humans and their animals.
In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if a new breed of lawyers emerged from this, attorneys who represent dogs who have been subject to discrimination along lines of not sexism or racism, but dogism!
Yes indeed, the new service dogs, vis-à-vis ESDs are spearheading a period of equal opportunity for the domestic animal kingdom. And that is why Isaac Mizarahi, et al, are onto something producing their line of doggie accessories.
After all, if girls like Helga can now go fancy places, they’ll need to look the part!
