Quote:
Originally Posted by gobbo
To be honest your posts seem really disdainful of the fact that I had him with me and it makes me think you don't really believe how crippling mental illnesses can be.
I figured you would resort to the " you don't know about mental illness" but actually I've been dealing with mental illness for the last 12 years of my life but I just didn't resort to taking an animal with me.
I think one of the reasons I'm so against it is that many people abuse the system and most of these problems can be worked through unlike blindness.
It sounds like you you really struggled with it and like I said I'm glad that you are able to go places with out your dog but I stand by my statement that if you (people in general,not just you) aren't mentally capable of going into public places with out an animal then maybe you shouldn't be there? For instance the poker tournament....if you're so ****ed up that you can't go play poker with out having a dog by your side maybe you shouldn't be playing poker?
It's nothing against you personally but I just think it's all a bunch of BS. You create more problems for yourself by using an animal as a crutch IMO and take away the animal and you're still ****ed up. Instead of actually dealing with the problems you're holding on to some ridiculous thought that an animal is your saving grace and the only way to cope. They are just thoughts after all. I personally don't want to rely on another person, animal, or drugs for my happiness/sanity.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gobbo
I understand and respect that point of view. I assume that's why emotional support animals no longer have federal protection. But it bothers me most likely because I've always loved being around dogs and it's hard for me to understand how someone who is afraid of all dogs can feel when they see me holding my 11 pound wiener dog.
See you're ****ing biased because you love dogs. News flash: Not everyone loves dogs or thinks they are cute.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gobbo
To me it comes down to risk and which is truly the bigger issue. I don't know how many people have serious fear of dogs and that is probably causing me to not understand the impact that having Oscar in a public place can have on people. But I do know how much he helped me.
Note, I'm not claiming that emotional service dogs should be allowed. Most of my comments in this thread are talking about legit service dogs. The problem I see is that people are using complaints against emotional service dogs that would apply to ALL service dogs, not just the ones that people find frivolous. So to me, that begs the question how much more necessary are physical ones than mental ones and are ALL physical service dogs more valid than mental? That seems extremely unlikely to me and indicative of a huge bias in our culture.
Again you're being biased because of your experience. I don't know many, actually I don't know any people that can't function in the world with out a dog but I do know many people with anxiety, bipolar, depression, ptsd, that all function in the world with out having an animal by their side.
Should someone be able to smoke cigarettes where ever they want because it helps with their anxiety?
Can a blind person go see a doctor and not be blind any more? Can you not see how anxiety is different than an actual physical medical condition like blindness? I'm not saying anxiety doesn't exist but it's not the same thing as being blind. There is a cure/way to work through it with out an animal at your side 24/7. You're evidence that it's possible. Fix the problem and don't put a band-aid (ESA) on it so you can function in society like a normal person.
Quote:
Originally Posted by gregorio
donk, is that your miniature horse ESA in your avatar?
It's my emotional support avatar, keeps me calm while I'm browsing the forums. You can pet him if you'd like.
Last edited by numberonedonk; 04-11-2015 at 12:17 PM.