Therapy dog policy at CA beaches? (Santa Cruz: buy, military, stores)

[kpl1228]

At the beach (Waddell Beach, north of Santa Cruz) and a dog owner took her dog past the "no dogs" sign. Against my better judgement (I'm rarely that guy), I actually said something. She got mad, and said it was a therapy dog, and she could take it anywhere. I said no, it's a state park and this is state law, and I saw no markings on the dog showing it was a therapy dog. It ended with her flipping me off, her walking into the sunset with Fido, who proceeded to pee on everything vertical.
Was I wrong? I may have been?

[Tulemutt]

Note the differences between “Service Animals” and “therapy / support animals”.

https://adata.org/publication/service-animals-booklet

https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclope...ic-places.html

[Mr5150]

In my area there has been a big issue with people bringing "therapy" dogs into grocery stores. All the stores now have big signs saying no pets allowed unless it a service dog with a vest on saying as much

[SportyandMisty]

Unfortunately you can buy the vest over the internet by checking a box saying it is for a service animal... no documentation is required.

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by kpl1228

At the beach (Waddell Beach, north of Santa Cruz) and a dog owner took her dog past the "no dogs" sign. Against my better judgement (I'm rarely that guy), I actually said something. She got mad, and said it was a therapy dog, and she could take it anywhere. I said no, it's a state park and this is state law, and I saw no markings on the dog showing it was a therapy dog. It ended with her flipping me off, her walking into the sunset with Fido, who proceeded to pee on everything vertical.
Was I wrong? I may have been?

You were not wrong. You did not go far enough. You should have said your doctor prescribed you Scream Therapy, and you should have screamed at her non-stop.

[BVitamin]

Apparently you can get these “dog therapy certificates” online, it’s gettig out of hand. I’ve seen people with them in museums.

[Snort]

I have a state-certified service giraffe and despite all my protestations, I keep getting turned away from airlines.

[kpl1228]

OP here: Sorry I asked.

[DKM]

People get fines for bringing their dogs on the beach every year. You weren't wrong, just not PC (which includes this, sadly)

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by kpl1228

OP here: Sorry I asked.

Heh ... right. What were you thinking? Asking a legitimate question and expecting intelligent, rational answers and discourse on an anonymous internet forum? It happens. But not often, of course.

That said, I’ll throw this your way. As a retired military veteran, I pitch in at times to assist other vets with a range of challenges. In my time doing so I have assisted several veterans in acquiring service dogs. I also have a couple disabled friends who use service dogs.

Obviously I have no idea if the woman you challenged was legit in her claim ... but I can confirm that people who are legit, with medical diagnoses and authorizations to use service dogs, get confronted on a regular basis, as you did with this woman.

And they get really
really
really
tired of it.

The best approach for a private citizen with a concern such as you expressed - is to bring your concern to the attention of some venue representative. Let them make the call. In some cases they might already have asked, or know the handler from previous encounters. And if management doesn’t seem to care ... then probably you should accept that.

I know one vet who has been known at times to wear a t-shirt that says: “yes, he’s my service dog”.