As an animal lover, this is so counter-intuitive that it almost goes against every fiber of my being. Despite the irresistible fluffiness, everyone should learn to control our temptations of asking to pet a service pet.
Service pets can range from the standard dog, to horses, and even stress rabbits, or pigs. There are even therapy and emotional support pets. Let's narrow it down to service dogs since they're the most documented. Typically, because we know the service pets are trained to be gentle, everyone (hopefully) asks to pet it. In my experience, (yes, I've been that person), the owner will usually say yes. However, the question should never even be asked. The owner shouldn't have to choose between potentially risking their life, or satisfying your impulse.
No, that is not an exaggeration. That pet is the difference between life and death. That pet is the difference between making a 911 call, detecting a seizure or a fire, getting across the street safely, or dying. When you see an animal harnessed, it's working. It is providing and protecting, and one distraction could be fatal.
It could also get worse than a one-time distraction. What if all those little interactions cause regression? The animal could learn to expect and welcome these interactions, and in extreme cases maybe even come to look for them (after all, what dog doesn’t love affection). Therefore, making it even more susceptible to distractions and carelessness for the patient.
Service dogs also do so much more than you think. Service dog's specialties range from mobility, hearing, autism, psychiatric cases (PSD), and even seizures and responses. That doesn't even include therapy and emotional support pets. They can specialize in these areas because the owner paid anywhere from 7,000 to 30,0000 dollars, and waited up to two years to have a 24/7 loving, loyal guardian. If I had a disability, paid thousands of dollars, and waited years for comfort and safety; I wouldn’t want to sacrifice that, even if only for five seconds.
Yet, they are more than fierce workers. They’re fierce friends. I think of my dogs as family, and I don’t even expect them to save my life. There’s an incredibly strong connection between owner and pet, and I’m sure the dog loves their owner. A dog realizes it’s emotional attachment as well as its responsibility, and who knows what emotional affect it could have on the animal to know it’s lost its best friend; to know it failed. This could certainly be a leap and maybe I’m overestimating the animal’s emotional capabilities, but I certainly wouldn’t want to cause an animal’s guilt or grief. Not to mention the grief of the family.
Overall, there are roughly 52 million dogs in the world; of those there are 387,000 service dogs. I promise there is always another dog, or animal to pet. If you're truly missing a beloved pet, or want to brighten your day, shelter animals are in true and desperate need of kindness and attention.
