In Response to the Edmonton Police Department Attempting to Detain Woman's Service Dog on Her Private Property

First and foremost, I would like to make it clear that this incident occurred in Alberta, Canada where service dog registrations are a thing. Those of you accusing this woman of having a fake service dog should probably pay attention to the last part of the video. Second, even if this incident did occur in the United States where ALL registries are fake and hold no weight in court according to the Department of Justice, this officer was still out of line.

Before I get called all kinds of names, I would also like to clarify that I have and always will be a devout supporter of our first responders and officers serving and protecting us. However, that does not mean there are lines that can and will be crossed by some, such as this one.

In this video, a girl lets her service dog outside. The officer wanted to know if it had tags and came onto the woman’s property to find that out, grabbed her dog by the collar, pet her dog like you’re absolutely not supposed to do to a service dog without asking its handler first, whether it is on or off duty, and demanded to see its tags that were not on its collar at the time. Once he found out it was a service dog, he demanded to see documentation. Again, outside of the United States, documentation is a thing in other countries. However, this officer is on her private property and harassing her. He is clearly crossing boundaries in many ways, including having a hold on her dog’s collar nearly the entire length of the video of 7 minutes.

Let’s talk about this situation as if it had happened in the United States. This is 100% illegal whether they were on her private property or out in public where her service dog has legal rights to be with its disabled handler. Even more so, this situation occurred on her own private property which makes it all the more disturbing regardless of what country it happened in.

For our United States readers, please remember that we legally do not have to have our service dogs registered. All registries are considered a scam and the American’s With Disabilities Act does not require us to register them in any way. You can literally register a jar of Nutella on any registry’s website. And yes, that has been done to show how much of a joke they are.

I have been kicked out of stores and restaurants and denied access to others, all because people think they can ask for documentation in the United States showing proof that a service dog is a service dog. I would like to make one thing clear - business owners are only allowed to ask two questions:

1.      Is this a service dog?

2.      What tasks is the dog trained to perform?

They cannot ask any further questions beyond that. Asking for documentation in the United States to show a service dog is a service dog is illegal. It might sound silly to all of you who do not require the use of a service dog, but in all actuality, it is discrimination to do so, and is the reason why the ADA exists in our favor.

My heart hurts for this poor girl. If you are familiar with canine behavior, you know that the dog is clearly distressed in this video. The girl had her rights invaded by the officer coming onto her property, when the dog never left it, which means that Alberta’s public access laws do not apply to this situation.

Please for the love of God just treat people with respect. It does not matter if we are disabled or not, we deserve respect. Our medical equipment deserves respect. This is the equivalent of an officer walking up to a woman in a wheelchair in her front yard, grabbing ahold of it, and demanding to see its serial number to prove it is a legitimate wheelchair. As she kept saying in the video – you know your rights and I know my rights. So, let’s start following them and stop harassing those of us with legitimate service dogs. Know the law, no matter what country you are in and no matter what position you hold within your job or community.

If you’re interested in watching this disturbing video, it’s all over Facebook. However, click here to view a portion of the video that was posted on YouTube without the music playing in the background for those of you who have a hard time hearing things like me, or you have sensory problems.

If you or someone you know needs support right now, call the Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255, or text START to 741-741

Image credit: Edmonton Police Service