Upon entering a restaurant and seeing a dog in a bright red vest on, it’s hard to tell whether the pup is about to start begging for food or alerting their handler to something wrong. With a “Service Dog – Do Not Pet” patch attached, there’s still a level of mistrust these days. 

Due to the easy access of service dog attire, it’s commonplace for people to purchase working dog harnesses for household pets in order to bypass “no-pet policy” places. Some might claim their dog is an emotional support animal (ESA), maintaining a privilege above business policies. 

So what distinguishes between a service dog and an ESA? Washington Law of Discrimination (WLAD) specifies that a service animal is “any dog or miniature horse trained to perform a task.” 

WLAD does not specify a training hours requirement, nor a registration requirement. The main stipulation is that the task be directly related to the present disability. The disability could either be visible or not. An obvious example would be a guide dog for the blind.

Disabilities are not always visible. Diabetic service dogs are trained to smell blood sugar fluctuations, and alert handlers to changes in their system. Psychiatric service dogs are used across society for PTSD, anxiety, and panic disorders.

Qualifying tasks would include alerting the handler with a nudge, whether they are telling their owner their blood sugar is too high, a seizure is about to occur, or a panic attack is rising. These dogs are trained to ignore distractions and focus on their jobs. 

Kody Green, a TikToker who gained traction with his service animal videos, has a little terrier named Luna he trained to greet people. This includes going up to someone and sitting at their feet. But when Green’s schizophrenia causes him to have hallucinations, when Luna remains stoic at the command, he knows that the person he’s seeing is just a mirage. 

But easy tasking isn’t always the case. Sam Rizk, a student who works with service dogs in training, recalls a time she experienced an episode in a store when the staff “kept the public away but allowed [staff] to pet and distract [my service animal], making my episode worse and sending me to the hospital.” 

A big misconception with working dogs includes the requirements for Emotional Support Dogs, or ESAs. They may be very similar, but training, if any, for an ESA is not related to a disability.  

There is no training requirement, no recognized registration, and no federal policy concerning ESAs. Often, these owners use buzzwords and patches from Amazon to bypass no-pet policies to bring in untrained animals into places they don’t belong.

These animals are not trained for any specific task, but instead provide comfort or support. While ESAs have their purpose and own rights, they are on a level underneath the service animals we see tasking.

Rizk went on, “an [ESA] ran up to [my service animal] and attacked him in a non-pet friendly place. It made me have to retire him at just three years old.”

While we all love our household pets, sometimes they are perfectly okay spending time at home while you go into a restaurant or store. Service animal training is much more in depth than the basic obedience of ‘sit,’ ‘stay,’ or ‘heel.’ 

So how does one approach a handler with their service animal? WLAD allows business to ask two questions: Is this animal a service animal? What task are they trained to perform? If the answer does not relate to a disability businesses have complete rights to exclude the animal from their business. 

Animals are incredible friends and bring so much into our lives. Yet for disabled persons, service animals are a piece of medical equipment, much like a wheelchair or an oxygen tank. 

It’s especially important to train kids with proper etiquette when confronted with service animals. Not all dogs in public are there for attention. 

Darby Strong, a Highline student and receiver from Canine Companions, told the Thunderword,  “I have most issues with kids running up to her and trying to pet her.” 

All in all, leave the pups alone. The safest course of action when wanting to pet a pooch in public is to always ask the owner if they are working, friendly, and safe to be pet. Most of the time, pet parents love when they’re pets get attention from others. It provides love and socialization for everyone involved, but handlers with service dogs are in need of those pups, and pets could lead to dangerous distraction and missed alerts.