People on social media are coming to the defense of a TikToker who was confronted by a stranger in Target who shamed her for bringing her service dog near food items.
TikToker @serviceaussiebailey and her incredibly well-behaved and attentive service dog were minding their own business when a total stranger began to harass them over both the cleanliness and the documentation of the animal.
The TikToker explained in the caption:
"All I wanted to do was get groceries for the week. I can't just leave my service dog at home because he has fur."
"This whole situation really made me so uncomfortable, I didn't know what to say or how to respond..."
She continued:
"I shouldn't have to disclose my disability with anyone, nor should someone feel the need to harass those who utilize service dogs because they see a dog in places that dogs aren't normally allowed.
"After this, she literally followed me through the store waiting until an apparent 'manager' could help her. I ended up leaving the store because of how stressed I was."
"I hate confrontation and this was the worst I have had in a long time."
Places open to the public are required by law to allow service animals in "most places where the public can go."
Additionally, service animals are not required to wear specific vests or harnesses or even have an official "certification." They must only be trained to perform a task directly related to a person’s disability.
And a person absolutely does not have to disclose their disability. A person with a service animal may only be asked 1) if it is a service animal required because of a disability, and 2) what tasks the animal performs.
In the video, which shows only the dog and the floor, the woman can be heard saying:
“Are you worried about like his hair and things getting into the food? Like, are you allowed to bring him into places that sell food like that?”
“Like, does he get bathed every day? Like how am I supposed to know that he’s clean?”
The TikToker was very polite and answered the woman's questions, assuring her that the god was clean. But that wasn't enough.
When the woman asked about the creator's disability, @serviceaussiebailey replied:
“It’s none of your business really.”
The complete stranger also asked for "papers" for the service animal before saying she was going to find a manager to talk to about the situation.
You can listen to the exchange below.
Viewers of the video could not believe the audacity of the woman and told the creator they would have handled the situation much differently.
@serviceaussiebailey/TikTok
@serviceaussiebailey/TikTok
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@serviceaussiebailey/TikTok
Others apologized that the TikToker had such a horrible encounter.
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@serviceaussiebailey/TikTok
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@serviceaussiebailey/TikTok
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And, of course, they couldn't leave out the "goodest boy."
@serviceaussiebailey/TikTok
@serviceaussiebailey's TikTok has been viewed more than 7 million times already. We sure hope people watching are learning some valuable lessons.
We're so sorry she had to go through that.
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