Volunteer wonders about service animals

Dear Amy: I volunteer at several public venues (including a zoo) where visitors frequently bring a pet that they claim is a service animal.

Oftentimes this is clearly a lie. For instance, today a visitor at the zoo claimed that her puppy was a service animal.

When I told her that animals weren’t allowed in this space, she took exception and dared me to quiz her on laws governing service animals.

Management has warned volunteers like me to avoid getting into tangles with these folks — unless the so-called service animal is creating a nuisance or is a danger.

When someone insists that their animal companion is a service animal or an “emotional support animal,” we are told to take them at their word. This is mostly to avoid the threat of a lawsuit.

Would you please remind your readers that a service animal is a specific legal entity? Pretending that your dog — or any other pet — is a service animal does the rest of us a disservice. It’s entitled, selfish behavior that potentially puts other people and other animals at risk.

And it’s not fair to other people who respect the rules and (reluctantly) leave their pet at home. This is part of the responsibility of having a pet.

If everyone brought their pet everywhere, we’d be seeing a lot more animals fighting and pooping, and a lot more allergic people sneezing.

There are many places where pets are welcome. But there are also many places where they would be better off at home.

— Animal Lover

Dear Animal Lover: I sincerely believe that all beloved pets are emotional support animals, but our love for our companion animals does not entitle us to bring them everywhere.