A leash for my snake (hear me out)

[JodanOrNoDan]

I'm sorry, I cannot stop myself. Obviously everyone on here likes snakes, but a snake as some kind of service animal? Please. This smells like nothing more than abuse of the system. And just like another topic that is on the political agenda right now, please keep in mind that not everyone shares your views. Snake lovers are a minority. My neighbors don't even know I have snakes. I do not take them outside. Whether we like it or not there are a lot of misinformed people that are scared to death of snakes. Some with outright phobias. I wouldn't in a million years walk into a store where I live carrying a snake. I am likely to give some old lady a heart attack. I do my best to respect other people and generally I get respect back. Carrying a snake around in public is nothing more than a grab for attention.

[BlackOut]

I'm sorry, I cannot stop myself. Obviously everyone on here likes snakes, but a snake as some kind of service animal? Please. This smells like nothing more than abuse of the system. And just like another topic that is on the political agenda right now, please keep in mind that not everyone shares your views. Snake lovers are a minority. My neighbors don't even know I have snakes. I do not take them outside. Whether we like it or not there are a lot of misinformed people that are scared to death of snakes. Some with outright phobias. I wouldn't in a million years walk into a store where I live carrying a snake. I am likely to give some old lady a heart attack. I do my best to respect other people and generally I get respect back. Carrying a snake around in public is nothing more than a grab for attention.

+1


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[m1lkhoney]

Ouch. That was not my intention AT ALL.

- - - Updated - - -

Well, this conversation seems to be heading in an unpleasant direction so I will just thank you all for the advice, and I will take it into consideration. I appreciate it.

[Soord]

I'm sorry, I cannot stop myself. Obviously everyone on here likes snakes, but a snake as some kind of service animal? Please. This smells like nothing more than abuse of the system. And just like another topic that is on the political agenda right now, please keep in mind that not everyone shares your views. Snake lovers are a minority. My neighbors don't even know I have snakes. I do not take them outside. Whether we like it or not there are a lot of misinformed people that are scared to death of snakes. Some with outright phobias. I wouldn't in a million years walk into a store where I live carrying a snake. I am likely to give some old lady a heart attack. I do my best to respect other people and generally I get respect back. Carrying a snake around in public is nothing more than a grab for attention.

Agree

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[m1lkhoney]

Okay, I understand! I'm sort of crying so you guys can stop now. I won't do it.

[Soord]

I should specify i dont agree with the grab for attention part. I agree with the part about phobias. about 1/10th of my friends like my snakes enough to even try to hold them (and my main snake i would give them was the breeder and resident snake at a local petstore and has never bitten anyone). I think it can be a fine thing to do to carry it outside, and even at a park that isnt too crowded (some people bring burms and boa constrictors to the park around me). I agree that taking it into a store is a lot more trouble than it is worth and i dont think the snake would enjoy that at all. The abuse of the support animal im on the fence about. I think if people got a support animal it should be a service animal sans extremely special cases because i have seen people in stores that have loud animals that let people play with them and that arent behaved at all. I realize that your snake is mellow and such but you cant truly tame reptiles and you can only train them on some things i would not consider them trainable animals. even the most docile snakes can strike out if the conditions are right.

Also, correct me if im wrong, people can deny entry to you and an emotional support animal anywhere except housing and flights right? I thought you still couldnt take them ANYWHERE because they arent a service animal.

[BlackOut]

Not intending to hurt your feelings or upset you. We all have an opinion and some more pleasant than others. So let me say this....it is your snake ! Love it , feed it, play with it, enjoy it ! As long as you make a decision that doesn't bring a negative outcome upon the snake or yourself then I say do what you want to do ! I have to be honest and say that I don't like to grab for attention but I have thought about occasionally walking around the block as I usually do but only I'd like to carry ziggy's with me. Will people stop and stare or want to come check him out??? Possibly....will others be outright petrified or have something negative to say ??? Absolutely. Ultimately the decision is yours to make. Hope you can find a way to make it work with a leash just maybe try to carry him around without playing the "companion" or "service" animal card is what everyone is saying. Hope this helps as I would never want anyone here or anywhere else to feel bad or offended on my account ! Cheers


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[JodanOrNoDan]

Instead of taking something negative away from this conversation, take something positive. You have gotten an honest view from a bunch of people. This information is valuable. The things people have said here are some of the possibilities of what would be going through people's mind when they see you. This should be a positive from your viewpoint. Free advice. Some people on here are short, to the point and blunt. There is no one here that is mean that I am aware of. The mean ones get booted off here pretty quick. Everyone is going to tell you the truth as they see it. Take it for what its worth. At the end of the day you evaluate the data and make your own decisions.

[m1lkhoney]

Thank you; I'm sorry if I overreacted. The emotional support part was suggested by a therapist; I have a pretty annoyingly severe mental illness and I have a hard time telling the difference between neutrality and negativity sometimes. I apologize if I took your comments the wrong way.

I suppose I just trusted my therapist and figured if she said I would benefit from an ESA, and my emotional support is my snake... well, you can see where it went from there. But I see now that it might not be the best idea. I just have a hard time going outside alone sometimes. Maybe a few times I can take him to a park if it's warm and there aren't many people around. It would be nice if I could go to a park and not be scared.

Thank you for clarifying.

[MercedesBenz]

This is possible:

http://m.imgur.com/7hMsbW1