A woman took to Reddit to vent about a nightmare shopper she’d encountered a couple of times whilst out and about. This tale involves invisible disabilities, entitled parents, service dogs, and the police! Read on to find out more.
She Has a Service Dog
The Original Poster (OP) is fuming. She can’t believe what happened to her yesterday. She’s been stewing over it all night and can’t keep it in anymore. She’s had it with people not understanding what her service dog does for her, and she’s had it with people judging her for her age.
It all started when she went to Bulk Foods to buy some supplies with her cardiac alert dog. While she was in there, a girl nearby started crying. The girl’s mother walked over and started demanding that OP leave the store immediately.
The woman didn’t believe that the dog was a service dog and accused OP of being too young to have a medical condition.
She’s Often Misunderstood
OP tried to explain that her dog keeps track of her heart rate and blood pressure and that she could pass out without warning if she didn’t have the dog with her. But the woman wasn’t having it.
She said that regardless of whether or not the dog was an authentic working dog, her child had autism and was terrified. She demanded OP leave immediately and wait until she and her daughter left before she could return inside.
OP refused and continued shopping. She simply went to another area of the store to get the rest of the stuff on her shopping list. The woman had to take her child and leave the store because she was too scared.
The entire time, she kept saying OP should be ashamed of herself for scaring a child and refusing to leave.
Her Dog Is Clearly Identified
OP’s dog was wearing a harness with patches on it to clearly identify it as a service dog and not to distract her while she was working.
But a month later, the same woman and her child saw OP again in Walmart while she was grocery shopping. OP made the mistake of ignoring her dog when she was alerting to her heart rate, thinking she just wanted the sandwich she was eating.
She ended up dizzy and out of breath and had to sit in the corner of the store while her dog was doing deep pressure therapy.
She Encountered the Woman Again
While she was down, the same child saw her again from a distance and had another meltdown. The child’s mother already explained to OP last time that her daughter had autism. She was screaming and crying about the dog being there because she was terrified.
OP can understand why she may be scared because her dog is by no means small. She’s a 115lb female Cane Corso. Aside from alert and response, she’s also trained for mobility assistance.
Cane Corso’s aren’t used as a service dog typically, but she was a natural. OP got her as a pet dog, and she became the service dog she needed. She’s a 100% good girl.
She Called the Cops
But this woman did not leave the store with her child, that was having a meltdown. Instead, she had the audacity to call 911 on the OP! Eventually, the cops did show up, and the woman kept shouting that OP was faking having a disability because she was too young to actually be disabled.
She also said it was illegal for OP to have her service dog anywhere near food indoors and that people like OP are the reason why she has had to suffer lockdowns! OP took particular offense to this as she’s Asian.
The woman even had the nerve to tell OP to stay home away from everyone and keep her dog at home where it belongs.
OP’s dog had her vest on with tags that say service dog. She showed the cops her medical note that she carries, stating that she requires a service dog. In the end, the manager banned the woman from coming to the local Walmart for a year.
The Cops Were on Her Side
The cops only gave her a warning for wasting their time and escorted her off the property.
OP felt frustrated, angry, and emotionally drained from the encounter. She couldn’t believe that someone could be so ignorant and hateful towards her and her service dog.
She just wanted to live her life and navigate through her daily routine with her furry companion by her side.
Incidents like these remind us of the importance of educating others about invisible disabilities. Just because you can’t physically see someone’s disability doesn’t give you the right to call the police on them!
It’s crucial that we show empathy and understanding towards individuals with disabilities and their service dogs and not judge them based on appearances or assumptions.
What do you think of her tale? Calling the police backfired on this woman. Let’s hope they treat her with respect if the OP encounters her again.
The post This Woman Called Her a Fraud for Using a Service Dog and Insulted Her With Racial Slurs, Then She Called the Cops!! first appeared on Wealthy Living
Featured Image Credit: Shutterstock / Mix and Match Studio. The people shown in the images are for illustrative purposes only, not the actual people featured in the story.
Source: Reddit