People Need To Know What To Do When You See A Service Dog By Itself
Melissa Hope turned a simple Twitter post into an important reminder about service dogs and the people who rely on them. Most of us know not to pet or distract a working dog, but the rules get less obvious when that dog is alone and still wearing a vest.
In Melissa's case, her service dog is trained to seek help if she has a seizure, and that is exactly what happened after she fell. Instead of getting the response the dog needed, she was met with annoyance and ignored, which made the whole situation feel a lot more serious.
Now her warning is making people rethink what they should do the moment a service dog shows up without its handler.
Melissa had taken a fall, and her dog sprang into action, seeking out help as it has been trained to do, but was met with general annoyance and was ignored by everyone she approached. If this had been a real medical situation, then she could have died. Luckily, it wasn't.
“Don’t get scared, don’t get annoyed; follow the dog! If it had been an emergency situation, I could have vomited and choked, I could have hit my head, I could have had so many things happen to me,”
Melissa wrote.
That warning landed hard.
A few posters responded explaining the importance of this PSA
A few posters responded explaining the importance of this PSA
A few posters responded explaining the importance of this PSA
After Melissa’s incident, check out how a grocery store seizure turned into a “he undoubtedly saved my life” moment for one handler.
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