Dear Dr’s Office Staff:
Hi, it’s me again. The woman in the wheelchair with two service dogs from this morning. I know one of them wasn’t wearing a vest. We looked high and low for it yesterday and. then some more this morning before coming to the office. So I understand why you felt the need to ask about Pixie even though vests are not a required thing. She and Gideon stayed in the waiting area because we thought that the exam rooms might be cramped with both dogs in there. The nurse then said,”good because I don’t want them back there with the medical equipment anyway.” I bit my tongue because after having had to deal with a mild case of ulcers last year, I have been trying to pick my battles more carefully. Now I’ll educate everybody for just a second on two things. The first thing is that service dogs in the United States are not required to wear a vest or harness while working, The second thing is that service dogs are allowed\ generally anywhere its handler goes with the major exception of a sterile operating room or other “clean room” environment within a hospital.
What this means if I had wished to push the issue I could have insisted that the dogs come into the exam room with me.Just for the record, neither of my dogs is destructive and I can guarantee that the equipment in your office was in absolutely no danger. We will be back in six months, wearing a vest because they really do make access easier.
Sincerely,
The Patient Probably Known As the Crazy Dog Lady Within Your Office
Author’s Note: This was Pixie’s first outing and in my opinion, she rocked it.She barked a few times but not excessively and then settled down. She was sweet with anybody who asked to pet her. I’m over the moon.
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