Bringing your dog to church

[Salty]

Found this on FB

Do any of your churches have policies regarding people bringing their therapy pets to church? I want to be sympathetic to people who have been deeply affected by trauma but at the same time sympathetic to people who are terrified of dogs.

Open for discussion

 

[canadyjd]

I’d rather not have a sixty pound pit bull sniffing me when I’m worshipping God. It might be distracting. If the animal is a trained service animal (for a blind person for example) and well behaved (potty trained) I wouldn’t see a problem besides all the people wanting to pet it.

On the other hand, I’ve heard of of animals that are trained to detect strokes, seizures and other conditions

What about “comfort animals” which are not trained service dogs. I’ve seen people with rabbits, parrots as comfort animals. I’ve heard of people with pot bullied pigs, snakes and other exotic animals as comfort pets.

I suspect the determining factor would be how much, if any, distractions it caused during the worship service.

Additionally, I believe but am not sure, that churches generally have an exemption from allowing service animals in the services. That might depend on each state.

interesting question

peace to you

 

[rockytopva]

The word Holy, the best I can put it, is a place prepared for some useful function. Restaurants, for example, are places prepared for the purpose of eating and monitored by the health department for cleanliness. Inspections will either pass or fail. I remember watching the Three Stooges in which they were operating a restaurant with their dog lying close by. A customer asked, “Hey! Why is that dog growling at me?” In which Moe replies, “Because you’re eating out of his dish!”

Bringing pets into places hallowed for some useful function is always a tough proposition!

 

[JonC]

IMHO therapy animals like emotional support dogs belong in the area of therapy (do it at home).

People are....er.....what's the word (or one I can use here)?.....snowflakes?

How do we go from a generation that stormed the beaches of Normandy and came home to raise their families to a generation that needs emotional support animals?

Actual service animals are different (for a disability.....emotional need is not a disability).

 

[JonC]

That said.....I like dogs and wouldn't mind having them in church....as long as they are baptist dogs. I would not be comfortable having a Presbyterian dog in church.

 

[Bible Thumpin n Gun Totin]

Being allergic to dogs, bringing a dog to an enclosed Church building could very well cause me to stop attending service so that I am not sneezing, hacking, and blowing my nose for the rest of the day.

I say if I can't run a few head of cattle through the Church building, or a few chickens, then I'll say no to the dogs too for the same reason livestock can't come in.

 

[Marooncat79]

What about Pet Rocks?

I had one back in the day

 

[KenH]

My oversized Sheltie would love to go to Bible study and worship service with me and visit the members. My other two Shelties, not so much.

 

[padredurand]

We have a sheltie, a Great pyrenees, a 60-pound mutt, a Boston terrier, one pug and a pittie that attend more regularly than some of the humans. They are all well behaved, sit with their owners and sometimes join in the singing. The pyrenees will often curl up at my feet while I'm preaching.

 

[Salty]

... The pyrenees will often curl up at my feet while I'm preaching.

Is his job to let you know when your hour of preaching is up?

 

[canadyjd]

What about Pet Rocks?

I had one back in the day

If I were preaching and people started coming in with rocks, I might be looking for a quick exit.

peace to you

 

[Cathode]

IMHO therapy animals like emotional support dogs belong in the area of therapy (do it at home).

People are....er.....what's the word (or one I can use here)?.....snowflakes?

How do we go from a generation that stormed the beaches of Normandy and came home to raise their families to a generation that needs emotional support animals?

Actual service animals are different (for a disability.....emotional need is not a disability).

I changed my mind on that score. A friend of mine is a veteran SF sniper, he got a therapy dog a golden retriever bitch and it is constantly preventing him from loosing the plot.
Never seen a more empathetic animal, it detects suffering in people and immediately goes and comforts them. It gets a genuine concerned look on its face assessing people, it’s alert to the slightest mood change.

Before he got the dog my friend would be found in the fetal position, going through an episode. He’s had a lot concussive brain injuries mostly from getting blown up in vehicles, but he is also missing body parts from all of it.

The average soldier in WW2 only faced 40 days actual combat in 4 years, Vietnam they faced 240 days combat.
Today many have had up to 1000-1200 days combat. Smaller scale military, the higher operational tempo. Less people more work.

Denigrating modern soldiers characters by WW2 soldiers standards is not comparing like for like.

Many WW2 veterans did end up in psych wards anyway, but they were the ones that probably had way more than the average combat days.

If a suffering veteran wants to have his therapy dog at Church, he is more than welcome in my book, I’ll fight flat out for his right to bring it.

 

[JonC]

I changed my mind on that score. A friend of mine is a veteran SF sniper, he got a therapy dog a golden retriever bitch and it is constantly preventing him from loosing the plot.
Never seen a more empathetic animal, it detects suffering in people and immediately goes and comforts them. It gets a genuine concerned look on its face assessing people, it’s alert to the slightest mood change.

Before he got the dog my friend would be found in the fetal position, going through an episode. He’s had a lot concussive brain injuries mostly from getting blown up in vehicles, but he is also missing body parts from all of it.

The average soldier in WW2 only faced 40 days actual combat in 4 years, Vietnam they faced 240 days combat.
Today many have had up to 1000-1200 days combat. Smaller scale military, the higher operational tempo. Less people more work.

Denigrating modern soldiers characters by WW2 soldiers standards is not comparing like for like.

Many WW2 veterans did end up in psych wards anyway, but they were the ones that probably had way more than the average combat days.

If a suffering veteran wants to have his therapy dog at Church, he is more than welcome in my book, I’ll fight flat out for his right to bring it.

I don't mind service animals. And I'd argue that dogs trained for those who suffer PTSD are service animals (that PTSD is a disability).

I think there are a lot of things that go into the differences in times (when it comes to the 1940's vs today's culture). My comment was not about soldiers but people in general.

I was talking about people who get therapy animals for emotional support (not soldiers who have service dogs).

We live in a culture of entitled, inep whiners. In elementary school I wore glasses and was called "four eyes" (along with everybody else who wore glasses). Didn't bother me.

Today if you refuse to use whatever pronoun a person chooses that person thinks it is emotionally assaulted and you may drive it to suicide. In Canada it is a crime.

People had to get psychiatric counseling because the last season of Game of Thrones was so devastating.