Shawna Barnes, who lives in Wisconsin, was diagnosed with myasthenia gravis in 2018. She shares about how she responds to people who ask intrusive questions about her service dog.

My service dog is considered medical equipment because he performs assistance to me throughout the day. He does mobility work, and also he’s also been cross-trained for some PTSD work.

So it’s, again, that blunt kind of question of, “Well, what does he do for you? What’s wrong with you? Why do you need him?” And for some reason, when it comes to a service dog, people think it’s OK to ask those questions.

But if I’m in my chair or if I am using my BiPAP or my forearm crutches, whatever device I need for the day, they don’t ask because they assume. But because of today’s society and culture, anytime they see a dog, and I tell them he’s my service dog, it’s almost like it gives them permission to be more brazen with their questions.

It’s one of those things that I don’t mind, again, because I like to educate.

If they feel comfortable asking me, “Well, what does he do?” I was like, “Well, you really shouldn’t ask because, you know, some people are not as comfortable discussing it as I am. But here, let me tell you some things to do.”

And I use it a lot to inform kids, because kids are curious. And I want kids to know.

And that’s kind of one of those things where they’ll come up and they’ll ask me, “Well, what does he do for you?” And so he puts on a little show, and then that helps teach the kids at a young age: When you see a dog helping somebody out in public, you need to leave them alone or ask permission to interact because they’re helping the person, just like, you know, mom and dad help you.

And when you can rephrase it into terms that they understand, I’m hoping that generation will be more understanding of how a service dog is really more than a pet, and sometimes vital for a person’s well-being.