(I have glasses, and sometimes when they get dirty I close one of my eyes and look to see if it’s that side of the glasses or the other that’s dirty. I am walking to class and I see some blurriness, so I do the thing I mentioned. I close one of my eyes and look. Then I notice a boy looking funny at me. I brush it off because not everyone does what I do. It is later that day when I am waiting in the hall and browsing NotAlwaysRight. The same guy I saw sits down next to me and starts to lean in and play bad music on his speaker. I just keep sitting there, still reading.)

Guy: “Soooo… a couple of hours ago…”

Me: *looks up and waits for him to continue*

Guy: *raises eyebrow*

Me: *still waiting*

Guy: *starts to lean in, probably for a kiss*

Me: “Uh. You okay?”

Guy: “Yeah? Why? You scared?”

Me: “No, just confused.”

Guy: “What’s confusing? You were winking at me just a while ago!”

Me: “…” *remembers this is the same dude as before* “Sorry, I was just looking through my glasses.”

Guy: “Yeah, right.” *stands up and starts to leave*

Me: “Well… good luck to the next girl you want to randomly kiss in the hall.”

Guy: *looks at me surprised and hurries away*

(Peeps, if you think someone is winking at you, that doesn’t mean you can just kiss ’em.)

(I am a volunteer for an organisation that raises and trains guide dogs for the blind. I am what they call a puppy foster parent; I raise a puppy from eight weeks until it goes to school at approximately fourteen months, which also involves some basic training. I am walking with the most adorable and sweet black Labrador, seven months old, who is wearing a vest that is clearly labeled with the text, “Guide Dog in Training,” and the name and logo of the organisation. A woman angrily approaches me.)

Woman: “They should instantly put down all pit bulls!”

Me: “Eh… Okay… And you’re telling me this because…?”

Woman: “So you know what kind of an anti-social b*****d you are!”

(The woman stomped off. Usually, I’m pretty good at smart and snappy comebacks, but this was way, way too far out there for me!)

(I’m visiting my boyfriend who lives in a different state. I’ve got my service dog with me, who is wearing an obvious red vest with a short lead that says, “Do not pet.” We’re at a big box store to grab some food for my stay when a customer comes up to us.)

Customer: “Ugh, go take your d*** mutt home!”

Me: “I’m… sorry?”

Customer: “You heard me! This isn’t [Pet Store]! Take him out!”

Boyfriend: “You know that’s a service dog, right?”

Customer: “Like h***! You’re not blind!”

Me: “No, sir, he’s for–”

(Suddenly, the customer lunges for the lead. I pull away, and my boyfriend shoves himself between me and the customer. An employee turns the corner and sees us.)

Employee: “What’s going on?!”

Customer: “This b**** is refusing to take her s*** dog outside where he belongs!”

Employee: “Sir, that service dog is legally allowed in the store! You need to leave or I’ll call security!”

(He glares at us and storms off. The employee makes sure we’re fine. My dog is signaling that my anxiety is out of control, so we ask for a place to sit. The employee guides us to some benches near the front and gets me a small cup of water. While we’re waiting it out, the customer drags a manager over to us. At this point, my dog is tucked under the bench, and is hard to see since he’s hidden behind our legs.)

Customer: “Them! They probably ran the d*** thing back to the car to lie!”

Manager: “I’m… sorry?”

(The employee comes back over.)

Employee: “That guy–” *pointing at the customer* “–started harassing these two over her service dog. I asked him to leave them alone before I called security.”

Manager: “Where is the service dog?”

(I stand up, and my dog stands next to me. The customer points down at him.)

Customer: “SEE?! DOGS CAN’T BE IN HERE!”

(He ended up being kicked out. The manager apologized profusely and gave us a small gift card.)

Related:
Doing A Disservice To Service Animals, Part 4
Doing A Disservice To Service Animals, Part 3
Doing A Disservice To Service Animals, Part 2
Doing A Disservice To Service Animals

This story is part of our Service Animals roundup!

Read the next Service Animals Roundup story!

Read the Service Animals Roundup!

I sometimes randomly faint. It doesn’t matter if I’ve eaten or not, or if it’s hot outside or not, I just faint, or everything goes black, but I’m still technically conscious. I can’t avoid it, so the only thing I can do is sit still wherever I can.

I was in the line in the supermarket with my mother when I felt an “attack” coming. There was a wooden couch very close to the lines, so I knew I could make it there instead of having to sit on the ground. There was an old couple in front of me, so I politely asked them if they could move. They completely ignored me. Normally I’d repeat it louder, but I was feeling very fuzzy at this point and could only repeat it at the same volume. After the third time, I just pushed past them and walked to the couch. I felt kind of bad for doing that.

After a couple of minutes, I felt well enough to go to the line again so I could help my mother with the heavy bags. When I arrived, I saw that she was having a big argument with the old man and that a random woman in the line had joined in.

Apparently, the couple had heard me, but had chosen to ignore the “stupid, young, lazy brat.” After I had left, they’d started insulting me and complaining about me “pushing them to the ground because standing for a minute is too much for the youth.” My mother did not appreciate that and told them off. The old man had then started insulting her, too, and a woman in the line had jumped to her defense. Meanwhile, the cashier was attempting to convince the old woman to leave because she was done scanning their stuff and they had paid already.

The old man then attempted to make it physical, but after trying to shove my mother weakly, security showed up to escort him and his wife out.

My mother and I thanked the random woman, and I was offered something to drink by the manager, but I declined because I just wanted to go home.

The old man ended up banned from the store.

(I go on various forums for expats living in Japan, looking for advice.)

Me: “Hello. I am a woman from Latin America moving to Japan for work. The company hiring me already told me I should bring fitted sheets from home since they are very expensive in Japan. Are there any other things I should bring, so as to not make my move too expensive?”

Person #1: “Japan is a first world country; you can get anything here.”

Person #2: “Japan is way more technological than that.”

Person #3: “Japan does have some things that are more expensive, but you can get anything here.”

Person #4: “There are more things here than where you live, lol.”

(So far, not one useful answer.)