- Would this bar him from drinking it, or would he have to register each glass?
Photo by mnm.all on Unsplash
They get press all the time, for being strange or for disrupting environments and they often have their validity questioned. We’re talking about The Emotional Support Animal.
Pretty Sure That’s Not What They Meant By ‘Emotional Support’
Floyd Hayes registered the unusual request with USA Service Dog Registration. He told NYPost.com that he just wanted to see if it would work. “I travel from upstate to Brooklyn a lot, and on the bus, they say it’s a federal crime to smoke or have an alcoholic beverage unless by prior written contest, and I always wondered where you get that consent. I am nor an alcoholic,” Hayes said. Hayes is a 47-year-old creative director, originally from England.
“It was really just an experiment. I’m not trying to make light on anybody who had any emotional issues.”
The Anonymous Worker
He reportedly filed to have his beer acknowledge as an emotional support dog, saying it helped him with his social anxiety disorder. Unfortunately for him, however, a worker for the registration spoke with a Brooklyn paper and revealed that being registered won’t actually help Hayes. The worker, who preferred to remain anonymous, explained that the registration doesn’t actually have any legal merit. The worker also said that anyone wishing to use an emotional support animal in a place of business would need to obtain written medical approval. They explained that the site is mainly used by landlords.
“This will not get you into Walmart, it will not get you into Denny’s, it will only protect you where you’re renting,” they said. Hayes, however, said that he waited for a bus at a Brooklyn stop the other day with a glass of beer in his had and that he was not approached by any law enforcement. “He can register his beer all day long, it’s not going to get him anywhere.”
Outside of insisting he wasn’t trying to make light of anyone else, stunts like this invalidate the necessity for emotional support animals. These highly trained animals help people with debilitating issues ranging from behavioral issues stemming from anxiety to determining when someone is in danger of having a seizure. They’re not toy chihuahuas in a soccer Mom’s purse that she just doesn’t want to leave in a car.