Pawtners in Crime | Skephalo

.:To hear and detect evil minds in the dark:.

CHAPTER 4

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I breathed a sigh, checking my watch as I made my way down the sidewalk. Cars zoomed by, making me feel uneasy. I walked along with many others, listening to the commotion commencing all around me. I tried to keep Rat out of the way of others, since she was either not noticed at all or was the main attraction in the eyes on strangers. The world is so black and white. I breathed out, taking no notice of horns blaring from vehicles on the road. I don't have that many classes on Wednesdays, and I had some grocery shopping to do.

I was walking towards the local Walmart. It was really close to my campus, so it was my go-to. To be honest, I try not to go to the store as much as I can. I have free will to go wherever I want, and it's not like I'm scared to go out-- I have Lucy! The only reason I stockpile a month's worth of food every time I go to Walmart is just because.. well, Walmart employees suck. If you were apart of the Service Dog community, a common nickname that flies around is hellmart. While I personally don't ever use it because that's-- bad language, it really fits the whole store.

A dog could walk in there with a fake vest and 'ID' off of Amazon, and they wouldn't even bat an eye. They're too nervous to take action when a dog is displaying inappropriate behavior because of the suing threats they get, and they just won't listen when we try to explain both of our rights in situations like this. Not only does it put the wrong idea in uneducated employee's heads, it creates a dangerous environment for unsuspecting customers and legitimate service dogs alike. If your pet dog is acting friendly, walking nicely, and not touching anything, then I don't care if it's a fake-- I've always lived by that. I don't care to report it, but if your dog is pulling things off of shelves, using the bathroom in the store, or displaying remotely any aggression towards me or my own dog? I get really mad at that. 

There are a lot of things someone can do in this situation. Personally, I start recording it for two reasons-- 1: to upload on YouTube and educate my small audience, and 2: use it for court cases if I ever get into any. If my dog gets injured and I have to take it to court, it's just proof that my own dog was not acting aggressive in any way and got sent to the doggy hospital because of someone's fake service animal. After recording, I go up to the front desk and tell an employee. Most of the time, they don't care one bit and explain that 'they don't have the right to kick the animal out'. I file complaints, but it doesn't solve anything. In a situation like this it's advised to just go up to an employee and tell them about it, but don't expect anything to happen unless it's a really good Walmart. 

Most of the popular Service Dog vloggers out there go and call out the fake personally, and while I don't support that, I understand it. When someone goes something repeatedly, it's very easy to be angry and want to speak out about it. And to be honest, their reaction is entertaining. Even so, I don't watch call-out videos because it triggers my PTSD and I often find myself in the midst of an oncoming panic attack from even thinking about a situation like that. I don't do well in conflict. 

The worst part is that if a legitimate service dog walks in, the handler gets kicked out because they don't have a fake ID that doesn't prove anything. I don't know the exact statistics on this, but from what I've seen, most service dog YouTubers just drop the whole thing instead of calling the police. Even when the police are called, they're uneducated and side with the store and their employees. While the police enforce the law and report rule-breakers, they don't know everything. That's the lawyer's job. I never once had taken anybody to court, as most people haven't, because it's just so tiring. As someone who briefly brushes with conflict nearly every day, you have to choose your battles.