Like What is said, this makes sense. I did find it strange she was/is training her dog all alone, only with someone who helps every other week or so. These dogs need to be trained properly!! I already knew you need to ignore a service dog. But after reading the article and if a service dog came up to me without it's owner, from now on I would definitely follow the dog, of course without touching him etc. But I guess this won't happen (often) though. I hope all service dogs are trained better than this one. And I hope she will let her dog get proper training! That would be far more safe than what happened in this article on BP. (Haven't read the article of the comment yet). Like was said, she could have vomited and choked or other things could have happened. So I hope the dog learns to never let her alone. And learn other better(!) solutions when something like this happens. But I will take this information with me anyway!

I have a service dog of my own for constant falls and fainting. My dog was a family pet, and has been deemed appropriate for that kind of work. My dog is also a mastiff. I have trained my own dog and is trained to fetch people when im down. Moral of the story, there is no guidelines aside from the ADA for 'proper service dog behavior'. So Karen, please do us all a favor and learn from this post.

THAT SEEMS LIKE IMPORTANT INFORMATION.

Service dogs can do many different tasks. A ton of service dogs get help for their person. My service dog gets help and it is a very important task. Seventy five percent of service dogs wash out, most of which seem appropriate for the work. Please don't be so judgey.

As someone who has trained service dogs, not every dog's responsibilities are the same as not ever person who needs a service dog has the same affliction. This is not a one-size-fits-all-cookie-cutter scenario. There are circumstances where a service animal will go to fetch assistance so please don't dismiss the value of this post due to limited information on service animal training.

Staying with it's human and barking may only work to a degree - most people would ignore the sound of a dog barking out of sight. The dog absolutely should go and alert someone where possible if help does not arrive quickly.

I think it's a matter of training. Even hyperactive dogs can be and have been trained for service. They all don't have to be solid and patient like seeing eye dogs. It sounds like gaps in the training.

Don't blame the dogs!

Call the human b******t not the dogs!

yup, I see this all the time. and it needs to be stopped.

This dog is being trained to react to seizures. As a person who has seizures, you don't get a warning. You don't feel faint. You're lights out in a millisecond. Just fall over like a tree. This could occur while crossing a road in the middle of traffic. A seizure dog is a real service dog.

Where I live in the UK there is no stray dog problem, no dog-dumping and any dog obviously alone, at the very least needs reuniting with it's owner

I always ask if I can pet them when I see a service dog, as long as it's with it's person OR a trainer.

Excuse you Kristina, but seizures are a real thing as is epilepsy. When you are about to seize there is no warning. No lights blinking, dizzy, light headed or nausea. Nothing. Just down and seizing. Most people dismiss a dog barking if they can't see it. But if a dog with a patch that said "If I'm alone, follow me!" approached someone the chances of them following are significantly higher. Even if the first person didn't do it, the dog could be trained to stay for 20 sec and if they don't help, find a new person. Not all service dogs help the blind or the deaf, some help people with seizures others help people with diabetes. There are ones that help people with autism, allergy detection, mobility assistance and PTSD. This is a legitimate disability that needs legitimate help!

I wish I. could up vote you more than once.

But now you know that you can get someonelse's attention to take care of that person.

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If a Mastiff approaches me, even with a vest, I am getting away from it.