First of all… no one should hassle someone with a service dog. Period. It’s none of our business why you need the dog, and we should not interfere with its job. I am really glad that you have a wonderful dog to help you.

That being said, one thing I loved when I recently traveled in Europe — they allowed dogs into many public places. It was common to see dogs riding the public transport, hanging out in cafes and restaurants with their owners… many family style restaurants had water bowls set out. The dogs were invariably well behaved.

Actually, the European dogs I saw were better behaved than most American children.

If everyone put in the effort to help their puppy become a well behaved canine citizen, then we would be able to take dogs with us to more places, which I think would be a good thing. Dogs brighten our lives in so many ways.

Another wonderful thing in Europe — I did not see any dog poop. People clean up after their dogs. Again — if everyone did that here, it would be much easier for access to be given to dogs in public spaces. Which I think would benefit all of us.