Emergency Holiday Etiquette tips.

RantWoman In Real Life and also in her tweet  streams has encountered two outrageous violations of basic etiquette so infuriating that RantWoman will fly into a rage if she observes either one of them. RantWoman hopes these blunt words will help everyone pass a cheerful fun holiday season.

Disturbing Service /Working dogs.

A dog in harness is likely a working or service dog. RantWoman has learned that fake service dog vests can be had through Amazon. RantWoman deeply wishes such fake vest availability were not the case but it is. In any case, a dog in harness means it is a working dog. That means in addition to basic avoidance and work skills like dealing iwth dog distraction, the dog has probably received many other kinds of training.

This is NOT true of the average dog on a leash in Seattle. Yesterday RantWoman, who admittedly was standing in front of the Service Dogs Welcome (leve your other  pets at home) sign. observed this glorious example of why pets should not come to the grocery store.

One customer was leaving the store . Another was entering. Both had dogs on leashes. Both dogs needed to bark and jump. The dogs were all waggy and probably friendly. Neither dog was responding to basic commands. Earth to customers: if your dog cannot do basic obedience and handle dog distraction issues, NO WAY does it qualify as a service dog.

RantWoman knows that especially at the dog park, lots of people kind of get introduced to each other by connecting with each others' dogs. RantWoman knows working dogs who also get to play Out of Harness at the dog park. The dog park is the dog park. The grocery store is the grocery store. Enough said?

RantWoman can fathom the possibility that dogs help humans introduce themselves aththe grocery store to BUT  loose poorly behaved dogs are still a distraction for service dogs; the humans with the problem dogs are responsible for what they communicate and to whom. For people with service dogs, the most appropriate thing to do is to address the human handler, not call out to the dog. (RantWoman knows this from one time making this very mistake  with a grad school friend and her guide dog. So if someone corrects you, Learn it!

Wheelchairs / mobility aids ARE NOT TOYS /  Carnival Rides!!!!

This eruption brought on by a Twitter post from a woman who uses a wheelchair. She was out shopping and learned first that she unintentionally hit a small child who was behind her and then learned that the child's parents had been encouraging him and his sibling to chase after the wheelchair and try to catch a ride.

Earth to parents: power wheelchairs are HEAVY. They can do damage if they run into someone. Not only that, if treating someone's wheelchair as a carnival ride damages the wheelchair, repairs can be expensive and inconvenient unto endangering for the person needing the wheelchair.

RantWoman notes: Irrepressible Nephew for quite awhile when he was small rode around on the back of his mother's wheelchair. RantWoman was not super crazy about this practice because of the risk of injuries . Fortunately, everyone survived. Enough said?