February 10, 2024 at 1:55 pm

Woman Took Her Service Dog On A No-Pet Hiking Trail, And An Angry Hiker Chewed Her Out for It

by Matthew Gilligan

There seem to be a lot of confrontations between people over service dogs these days…

And here’s another one for you to chew on!

Read this woman’s story and see if you think she was out of line for what she did.

AITA for being angry I encountered a “service” dog on my hike.

I’m (33F) an avid hiker and nature goer.

She’s not exactly an animal lover these days…

I am not a dog person mostly due to several less than positive experiences while hiking.

So i’ve found myself going to more and more dog-free trails.

I was at a national park recently that also cuts through and is near a nature preserve.

It was a clear no dogs area with plenty of can’t miss signage.

I’m a half hour into the hike when I come across someone with a dog in a Service Dog vest.

The dog is on an extendable leash and its being very curious, sniffing everything, stepping off trail. I tell the owner you know dogs aren’t allowed on this trail and it definitely shouldn’t be stepping off the trail even if your service dog is real.

They got into it.

She ignores me. I pause.

I’m just angry at the disrespect of the rules.

I specifically chose this trail to avoid dogs.

I straight up told her I think your dog is a fake service dog.

Well she shot daggers at me with her eyes.

And she told me to shut up and chewed me out for assuming she doesn’t have a disability. Also calls me an ******* for questioning her.

She was standing by what she said.

I maintain I think her service dog is fake, I told her even if its real, you are acting rude and disrespectful.

I passed her.

I told a friend what I did and she told me I was a jerk to this person. I think i was in the right.

Here’s what people had to say about this.

This person said she’s an *******.