Today, Mason and I started our second semester of college. When we went to our first class, sciense, everything seemed pretty routeen. Then, I got a shock. The profesor came up to the front of the class, introduced himself, and said, "We have someone special in our class. His name is Mason and he is a guide dog."
I'm sure many people following this blog wouldn't think that's such a big deal. However, it is. One of the worst things you can do to a dog guide team is draw attention to its members. The less attention they get from people, the easier it is for them to function officiently. For example, after the profesor made it known that Mason was in the room, I got several requests to pet him. When it comes to that, I can politely tell them that he is working. However, some people will just try to pet a service dog without permission, which can cause major problems. Basically, the lesson here is that if you see someone with a service animal, ignore the dog. As cute as the dogs are, it just makes life easier for them if they are left alone.
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I like to tell people that Prada's harness means she's socially invisible and that usually works fairly well. With some of my more...quick-humored friends, though, if they ask to pet the dog I ask them "what dog?" Usually gets a laugh and the message is clear. Have you had problems with people thinking that putting their hand down to sniff is somehow not included in "please don't pet the dog?" That's probably my biggest struggle with friendly dog lovers, but most people are usually really good-natured about it once they understand
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