Annoying Experience at the Mall!!

[catstina]

As most of you know, I am in the process of training Saxon to be my Service Dog. Tonight we went to the mall doing some last minute Christmas shopping. Most Mall Employees are Service Dog savvy and it's actually one of my favorite places to train. All was going well, until we passed by one of those kiosks in the center of the hall. The kiosk was selling toys, remote control vehicles, and such. I was worried Saxon would bark at the remote control helicopter, because Tim has one and he likes to chase it around the house. He didn't, though, he actually ignored it and kept looking forward. But then when we walked past it, an other worker had a remote control car on the other side of the kiosk. It came very close to Saxon so he looked down at it. I made a kissy sound and said, "C'mon, buddy, leave it." He looked up at me with his big brown eyes and we walked on.

But then I heard the kiosk guys whistling and laughing. Saxon turned to look, so I did, as well. They had "chased" us with the remote car and were whistling and trying to get Saxon's attention!! I said, "Saxon, leave it. It's ok. Good boy." And he did at first, but then he stopped walking and looked back at them. They laughed and whistled again. I gave them and angry look and said, "Seriously!?!?" I don't know if they heard me, though, because we were 20 feet away at this point. I had to actually pull Saxon to get him to come with me.

After an other 5 feet, he snapped out of it and again was focusing on me. I was so angry and upset that I didn't know what to do! When I got home I called Maine Mall Management Office to complain, but they were closed. They only work Monday through Friday and I'm sure they'll have Monday off for Christmas Eve, I'll try to call them back that day, any way. It' so upsetting, though! I was actually crying I was so upset. Why would anyone think it's ok to distract a service dog and laugh about doing it?

[emilys]

what a** h***s!!! you would have been very justified in telling them that you were training a service dog and they are being jerks

OTOH.. it was a great exercise in distraction and even if it took Saxon a few moments to recover and re-focus, he DID. So that's the good part.

[sharron]

Yes. Saxon kept his focus on you , except for those few seconds,considering what you both had experienced !

20 feet away,or 100 feet away, everyone in that mall would have heard me loud and clear.Those two morons would have gotten my message along with the manager !!

How dare they act like that while working !! Very unprofessional !

When you speak to the manager , I suggest you mention that these two clowns were taunting and teasing your dog ,laughing ,whistling while the remote vehicle was chasing you !!

What type of mall stays closed on week-ends , especially during the holidays ?

Have you thought about sewing a vest-type piece
with bold black letters saying . SERVICE DOG IN TRAINING. Or perhaps a T-shirt that has something
like that on it ? There is a company that sells those patches or vests. If you want, I can look up the email address and give it to you. It's a site that you can register your dog if you meet the criteria.

You handled yourself very well.

sharron

[catstina]

He was wearing this vest:


I posted on the mall's FB page and got a quick response:

"This was unacceptable. Thank you for the detailed description of the cart, it makes it easy to address. We will have a conversation tomorrow about service animal protocol with that vendor!"

"Christina Jacobs, just to follow up, we had a training this morning with the employees who work at that cart. They send their apologies as well."

I am happy with the outcome, that's all I really wanted!

[suziriot]

I'm glad they addressed it so quickly and directly with the cart operators. Why are people such obnoxious a-holes? I just don't get it. You'd think they at least would not want to turn away customers. Not to mention the potential lawsuits.

Saxon sure taught them a thing or two about mature and polite behavior. Good boy Saxon!

[emilys]

I really commend the Mall for their very quick and appropriate response, including their own and the cart operators. Not enough businesses understand how important this is

[catstina]

The mall is really great about service dogs. They work with a few of the training programs so they really know their stuff. I've never once run into a problem with people working there (there will always be handsy customers, can't blame the mall for that).

[sharron]

Yes. I applaud the mall people for handling this so quickly. Glad it has worked out . Thanks to you and Saxon. You both have set an example for others !

sharron