Woman's Video Shooing Kid At Disneyland Away From Her Service Dog Sparks Heated Debate

A massive debate has taken over TikTok about who needs to be protected, children or service dogs or both, and it all started with a video taken at Disneyland.

TikToker @pluto_theservicedog frequently posts videos of her travels with her service dog, Pluto, and she also creates informative videos about how the general public should interact with service dogs.

In a video that she has since taken down, TikToker @pluto_theservicedog caught a young girl approaching her, likely to pet Pluto, when she told the girl, "No, thank you," and sent her away. The TikToker watched as the girl went back over to her family but still seemed interested in approaching her dog.

This opened up a conversation on the TikToker's page about present parenting, always keeping an eye on children in public spaces, and obviously, not petting a stranger's dog without asking first, especially when that dog is a clearly-marked service dog like Pluto.

Some might call that a productive conversation, at least until the girl's mother, TikToker @ali.fragster, came across the video.

The mother explained that the day that she and her extended family decided to go to Disneyland, it was an incredibly crowded day at the park, adding to the stress that they had multiple children in their family to look after, in a place none of them had been to in a very long time, if ever.

At the time the content creator recorded her video, the family had to sit themselves across multiple tables at the restaurant across the way, so the children of the family were walking back and forth to socialize with their parents, aunts, and uncles. According to TikToker @ali.fragster, they were socializing with their various family members, rather than being left unattended.

The TikToker points out that she and her sister are pregnant and postpartum, and she describes them both as "walking zombies" who needed to sit down and take a break at the park. While she calls them both "imperfect" parents, she also does not see the reason to apologize for needing a break.

She also called out TikToker @pluto_theservicedog, who admitted that the young girl did not touch or disturb her dog. The mom questioned what the point was in making the video, then, besides shaming a toddler for even approaching in the first place.

The mom also pointed out that her niece immediately listened to the woman when told, "No," and the family also spoke to her niece about approaching strangers and dogs she hasn't met after the fact, so the video was as educational as the TikToker made it out to be.

Most importantly, TikToker @ali.fragster pointed out that @pluto_theservicedog recorded her family without consent.

While TikToker @pluto_theservicedog does not want her picture taken or to appear in videos in case she might be having an episode that her service dog might be helping her with, she did not give @ali.fragster's family the same grace.

While she technically blurred the children's faces out of the video, her blurring was not consistent, so the children's faces can still be seen pretty frequently throughout the original video. These children also come from a family in which they do not appear online or on social media at all, and yet they suddenly are stars in a viral video.

TikToker @ali.fragster received a barrage of negative comments about allowing her niece to wander and the fact that it was illegal to distract a service dog. She has since turned the comments off and deleted her video.

Most of the comments have been angry, blaming the family for allowing the child to approach, and some have even suggested that the family should put their children on leashes.

Since then, TikToker @thatflippingagent has stepped in, pointing out that the hate is being directed at the wrong person.

While TikToker @pluto_theservicedog is perfectly valid in needing a service dog and wanting personal space in public spaces, it's also important to point out that this is far from the first time that she's called out families at Disneyland and recorded children without blurring them out and without their family's consent.

It's also interesting to note that TikToker @pluto_theservicedog has a partnership with Disneyland, so it's in her interest to create sensational content that goes viral to improve her views, which will earn her more money from her partnerships.

You can watch TikToker @thatflippingagent's video here:

Fellow TikTokers appreciated the nuanced take.

@thatflippingagent/TikTok

@thatflippingagent/TikTok

@thatflippingagent/TikTok

@thatflippingagent/TikTok

@thatflippingagent/TikTok

@thatflippingagent/TikTok

@thatflippingagent/TikTok

@thatflippingagent/TikTok

@thatflippingagent/TikTok

@thatflippingagent/TikTok

Service dogs and the people they protect absolutely deserve space, recognition, and the same boundaries we would all like to see respected.

However, families, especially children who may not be able to advocate for themselves, deserve respect as well, especially when it comes to something as serious as appearing in viral content.

The greatest message here just might be the fact that you should always consider the motivations behind a video before fully taking it at face value.