Service Dogs in Theaters — Page 2

JSquared2 said: "EvanstonDad said: "Sutton Ross said:I don't like dogs in any capacity

Mind can literally not wrap itself around this comment, lol.........I like dogs more than most people."

Lol —and yet another piece of the “Sutton Ross” puzzle falls into place — what kind of psycho “doesn’t like dogs in any capacity”? America’s Sweetheart continues to hold her crown!"

So true. That might be the most America's Sweetheart thing that America's Sweetheart has ever said.

Jordan Catalano said: "^ Actually, asking what task it’s meant to perform is a violation, as well. They can ask if it IS a service dog and require proof of that but that’s the limit of the information they’re allowed to collect. "

I know someone already responded back to this with the ADA's official wording but I currently work part time as an Assistant House Manager at a regional theater in NJ and I can tell you that's incorrect. We are allowed per ADA law to ask if the animal is a service animal and what task have they been trained to perform. We are not allowed to ask for any documentation that they are service animals; most places that sell documentation for service animals are scams anyway.

Going back to the initial post about service animals in theaters, I've worked at my theater going on 16 years and any time we've had a legit service animal (has to be a dog or miniature horse), no one's had any issues with it, never had any one complain about a service animal. The one thing that we do do is to jot down the ticket information so that we know where they are. There's actually this really nice patron who's come a number of shows with her service dog and she actually dresses the dog up with a bowtie.

EvanstonDad said: "Sutton Ross said:I don't like dogs in any capacity

Mind can literally not wrap itself around this comment, lol.........I like dogs more than most people."

SuttonRoss said: It was true in 2021 when I made that comment and it's still true now. People can like and dislike different things in life, and that's okay.

No, it's not. Everyone must like dogs.....EVERYONE!!!

Islander_fan said "we could tell when a dog was a service dog or not. However, NY state law says that you can’t legally ask the person if it’s a service dog. "

From NYC.gov:

"By law, businesses open to the public must allow service animals to accompany people with disabilities in all areas where the public can go. This is regardless of whether the dog is wearing a service tag or not.

Businesses can ask if a dog is a service dog and what task the dog performs. They cannot ask for any proof of disability or service animal certification."

Google AI also said that you are allowed legally to ask if it's a service animal or not in NY

Sutton Ross said: "People generally don't have a problem with them in theaters. I don't like dogs in any capacitybut a well trained dog there for a purpose? I would not have an issue with. The only problem I ever heard was when a woman complained during Big Fish (goddamn what a flop) whentwo rows ahead of me a woman saidthat someone's service dog appeared "dirty and smelled bad".
So, just make sure you have a clean, freshly washed dog and hopefully you will be just fine."

As someone who volunteers for our local humane society and has given dogs a foster home for a while, it is hard to imagine somebody not liking dogs. I have found that most people who have told me they don't like dogs are scared of them. Dogs can sense when people don't like them or are scared of them, so they probably dislike you as much as you dislike them. I truly doubt the dog that was dirty and smelled bad was a service dog.

Updated On: 9/3/26 at 09:12 AM

Islander_fan said "No, I know and you’re right. The issue that comes into play, at least from the ushers perspective is that because we can’t legally ask for proof. I can’t count the number of times I interacted with a patron or two in the past who claim that their personal dog falls into the category of a support dog. So we have no choice but to take them at their word. However, even though that’s the case, our hands are tied. But, we can always tell which ones are the actual service dogs vs someone who claims that their dog is in fact a service dog. Regardless, we have to take their word for it since we can’t ask them either way.


I mean, I remember this one time, a woman brought her small

dog in claiming that it was for service reasons. Now, we wee all able to very easily figure out that the woman who brought the dog with her was clearly full of ****, yet we couldn’t do anything. In fact, the woman was sitting second seat in off the aisle. She put down a dog pee pad and then, when the guy who had the aisle seat came in late, the dog started to growl and almost bark at the guy who came in because he was infringing on the dogs space.


Also, one thing that we also had to take into consideration is that there’s a customer service aspect too. If we were to kick out someone because we thought that the dog wasn’t a therapy people do complain and it would look bad for all the ushers on the team because it would be viewed as a customer relations issue. Manager gets yelled at by his powers that be, only for him to then yell at us

Oh I totally understand it. I'm an Assistant House Manager at a regional NJ theater and we've had our fair share of people claiming the animal is a service animal. Granted, if they came in with a cat claiming it was a service animal you'd know in a heartbeat it's not cause there are only two animals that can be (dog and miniature horse).

Oh my boss hates those people who bring their animals claiming they service animals, but are more like "emotional support animals." We had a show a few years ago where this group came with a dog and I asked both questions and his response to the second one was like "Well I get upset" or something along those lines. They still got to come in with the dog (this was a few years ago I do believe I had said to him that he can't have the dog as it's not a service animal, it's an emotional support animal to which he got angry, so we let it in) and they also sat in one of our ADA sections (no one in the group including the one with the dog looked like they needed those seats since they are primarily for wheelchairs).

We really haven't had any issues with service dogs since then. Any that come in, all check out. Most you can tell (seeing eye dog) without asking. We actually have a patron who's come a few times with her service animal and she actually dresses him up with a bowtie.

The paperwork/documentation thing from my understanding if the animal is a legit service animal, then the people with it should know it's only the 2 questions that are required by law and nothing else and if anyone pulls out paperwork/documentation then it's more than likely fradualent.