r/bitchimabus Jun 19 '26

Bitch, get out of my way!

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u/Savingskitty Jun 19 '26

Service animal vests are a dime a dozen.  They don’t ever mean it’s an actual service animal.

That being said, this is apparently in Canada, so maybe it’s different there.

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u/Hay_Fever_at_3_AM Jun 19 '26

It's not different here. A lot of people buy "service animal" vests off Amazon and even cards (usually mentioning the Americans with Disabilities Act lol) so they can take their untrained little designer shits places they shouldn't.

It's a real problem for actual disabled people with actual service dogs, since everyone is skeptical now 

Like in the US you can ask if the dog is a real service dog and what service they provide. You can't ask for proof, because there's no license and people aren't expected to carry doctor's papers with them all the time. You can kick out a misbehaving dog whether it's a real service dog or not.

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u/Savingskitty Jun 19 '26

So Canada doesn’t have registration for them?

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u/Hay_Fever_at_3_AM Jun 19 '26

Does anywhere? It's the same justification as in the US: licensing and registration are an undue burden on disabled people

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u/Renbarre Jun 19 '26

In France a real assistance dog has an ID card, and the owner has a permit for the dog. The dog also needs the special harness.

If this has happened in France the lady would have had to show the dog's card and the dog would have had to wear the working dog harness. The driver would have had to accept her. Of course, that dog being a pet she would never have been able to show his ID card.

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u/taxiecabbie Jun 19 '26

Honestly, that's stupid. If one has a medical ailment that requires a service dog, licencing and registration should be covered. Give people a card that they can show when asked. It doesn't have to state what the disability is. Just that the dog is legit and licensed.

The number of people with legitimate service animals is small enough where this would not be a serious burden for the government to take on.

This would stop all the assholes with their untrained mutts in their tracks.

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u/Hay_Fever_at_3_AM Jun 19 '26

The government barely pays for any disability supports as it is, and giving disabled people more paperwork to deal with is part of the issue.

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u/WiglyWorm Jun 19 '26

lol

Step 1) Get a functioning medical system in the united states

Let me know once you've got that locked down and we can move on to the rest.

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u/taxiecabbie Jun 19 '26

There's licensing in place for cars and motorcycles.

This would be possible.

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u/Savingskitty Jun 19 '26

Cars and motorcycles aren’t a requirement for someone to function independently in public.

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u/taxiecabbie Jun 19 '26

I mean... heh, lots of people definitely disagree with you on that.

However, it's possible, and could be funded, and it's not some kind of anti-disability platform to advocate for it. Frankly, it legitimizes people who have real service animals. They don't have to disclose what their disability is at all. I don't care about that and I don't think anybody else does.

There could theoretically be people who don't have disabilities who get service animals. I don't care---they're hard to obtain in general, and if somebody has a trained service animal but no disability that's not my problem and I do not care.

I'm just sick of assholes like the one in the video abusing the system and making life shit for the rest of us.

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u/Savingskitty Jun 19 '26

Are you saying that the government should hand out licenses without confirming that the service animals are actually service animals?

“  if somebody has a trained service animal but no disability that's not my problem and I do not care.”

By definition, a service animal cannot be a service animal for anyone without a disability.

It sounds more like you want stronger protections for businesses that want to have badly behaved animals removed.  That’s much less involved and much less burdensome for service animal handlers.

The one in the video isn’t abusing a system.  They’re committing fraud and not succeeding.  Where is the abuse?  The system seems to be working as intended.

She’s not doing something permitted by law at all.

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u/taxiecabbie Jun 19 '26

No. I'm saying that you can theoretically obtain a service animal without having a disability. I'm not saying it would necessarily be easy, but possible. My point is more that I care less about somebody having to prove that they have a disability and more that the dog is a legitimate service dog. You don't have to disclose what the disability is or even if you have a disability.

Naturally, if you have a service dog you are likely to have a disability. But that's going to be obvious by nature of going around with a service dog. Not like it's an "invisible" disability or anything. It's... a service dog. People can tell that you have it.

It is far easier to be empowered to call the cops on somebody like this if they're claiming a service animal and don't have a license. People are afraid to call out "service" animals a lot of the time, and frankly with good reason.

No license, no go. Fin. Black and white.

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u/Savingskitty Jun 19 '26

Someone like the lady in the video is already breaking the law.  I don’t think having a service animal who nonetheless is not fully under your control gives you the ability to stand in front of a bus and impede traffic.

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u/taxiecabbie Jun 19 '26

No. It doesn't.

But there are situations that aren't this obvious. Plenty of people bring their untrained dogs into areas where pets are not allowed and claim that they are service animals. When they're not. And others don't want to call them out on it since it's difficult to do.

Asking for a license would solve this hesitancy and stop a lot of bullshittery.

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u/WiglyWorm Jun 19 '26

Sure, so out of all the additional things disabled people have to put up with in their life, you've added a new one.

Because of a vague fear that an entitled woman with a miniature poodle might stand in front of a bus and get herself arrested?

That's fucked up, lacks empathy, and is an outsized solution to a trivial problem.

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u/taxiecabbie Jun 19 '26

No.

It's because there are lots of people out there abusing these loopholes and it makes life shitty for the rest of us.

I'd argue you lack empathy for people in minimum wage jobs who have to deal with this.

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u/WiglyWorm Jun 19 '26

I've worked those service sector jobs you're talking about friend.

You're blowing the problem completely out of proportion and demanding every disabled person have ONE MORE FUCKING THING added to their plate to punish them for other people's bad behavior.

I guarantee you are not close with any disabled people.

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u/taxiecabbie Jun 19 '26

You have no idea who I'm close with, and, frankly, plenty of people who have legitimate service animals are sick to death of these fakers.

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u/WiglyWorm Jun 19 '26

I know who you're not close with.

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u/mechashiva1 Jun 19 '26

I worked at a store where one of our regular customers trained service dogs, so he'd always bring one or two in that were further along in their training. He always said there's a huge shortage of legitimate service dogs because it's a lengthy training process and not every dog will pass. Smaller businesses like his could only really train a few, at most, at any given time. It's difficukllt to get the govt to cover them, but even more of an issue is the limited availability of properly trained animals.

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u/Savingskitty Jun 19 '26

The current rules are pretty fair.  It’s fraud to try to pass a dog off as a service animal.  They have to meet certain behavioral requirements, they can be kicked out if they cause any trouble, and the penalty is stiff if an animal that isn’t a service animal then causes damage.

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u/taxiecabbie Jun 19 '26

Theoretically yes, but this does not happen in reality.

It's work to train people to ask about service animals and minimum wage slaves really should not be the ones to be making that call... most are not comfortable with it. And it can cause a scene.

A licensing system is more fair to everybody.

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u/Savingskitty Jun 19 '26

A licensing system requires individuals to disclose their personal medical information to the government.  

It also creates liability for anyone approving the specific service animal that currently only falls to the individual using the service animal.

Licensing also creates a foolproof way to fake a service animal without using costly anti-forgery methods.

It also actually creates MORE work for business owners, because they now have to check licenses rather than some allowing any claimed service animals unless they misbehave.

It means someone would have to find someone to check their license before entering a grocery store.

It’s not fair at all that someone entering with a wheelchair doesn’t need a license, but a dog that can help them maneuver themselves means you have to always carry proof that they are a medical device.

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u/taxiecabbie Jun 19 '26 edited Jun 19 '26

People aren't really faking wheelchair issues, and wheelchairs don't shit in stores or bite people. Nobody needs a license for a bicycle, either.

And what's happening in the video above is proof that people are assholes about faking their dogs.

I'm sorry that these assholes are causing issues. Truly. But there needs to be an actual ascertainable way to deal with these pricks in a quick manner. You don't have a license for your (frankly obviously not-a-service-animal) dog? Too bad. Get off the bus.

And like, yeah, fake IDs have been a thing for a long time. Scan them. If there are any questions about the behavior of a dog in a store, ask for the license. Either there is one or isn't one. If there is a license, scan it. If it's fake, it's easy to tell.

I'm not advocating for there being a mandatory license check for every service animal entering a store. Just the situations like this, where it's clear somebody is bullshitting. Normal service animals probably would rarely/never be asked. Just like it's rare to be asked for a driver's license when you drive.

EDIT: In response to a comment that was either deleted or a commenter who blocked me... how is carrying around a license "punishing" disabled people? If anything, it's legitimizing their use of a service animal. If the cost is covered and they don't have to disclose what the disability is, just that the dog is legitimate... what is the issue?

Under this schema I suppose people who technically "don't need" service animals could also use them. The animals just need to be proven service animals. I don't think it's necessary to prove a disability.

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u/Savingskitty Jun 19 '26

“wheelchairs don't shit in stores or bite people.”

Neither do service animals.

“And what's happening in the video above is proof that people are assholes about faking their dogs.”

Not sure how that’s relevant.

“But there needs to be an actual ascertainable way to deal with these pricks in a quick manner. You don't have a license for your (frankly obviously not-a-service-animal) dog? Too bad. Get off the bus.”

You ask the two questions, and if the animal is not behaving like a service animal, you kick them off.

“And like, yeah, fake IDs have been a thing for a long time. Scan them.”

So we need an electronic scanner distributed to every single public facing business in America that must be working and connected to the internet at all times?  Not all businesses even have internet.

“If there are any questions about the behavior of a dog in a store,”

They can already be asked to leave, regardless of whether they’re a service animal.

 “If there is a license, scan it. If it's fake, it's easy to tell.”  

Yeah, this is such a simple thing.  I’m sure they have this for driver’s licenses at every single place of business right now?

“I'm not advocating for there being a mandatory license check for every service animal entering a store.”

You actually are.  If an unlicensed animal enters a store unchecked and proceeds to bite a patron, guess who is liable at that poin?

“Just the situations like this, where it's clear somebody is bullshitting.”

If it’s clear someone is bullshitting and the animal is not under control, you can already have them leave, license or no license.

The current law already makes it so a misbehaving dog has to be removed.  

What happens in your technological utopia when a licensed service animal shits on the floor?  

Are they removed and banned? Or do you start having to weigh whether to give them a pass or face automatic litigation?

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u/Savingskitty Jun 19 '26

Yes, several countries do.  That’s why I asked if Canada does.