“Service Dog” Escapes Leash & Chases Away A Deer In Glacier National Park

I’m all for public shaming in situations like this.

Wildlife is abundant in Glacier National Park in Montana. Over 70 different mammal species call the national park home, and mule deer are often easy to spot across the beautiful landscape. More than three million people visit Glacier each year to try and catch a glimpse of the variety of wild animals (like bears, mountain goats, and bighorn sheep).

Though it should be a common sense thing to keep your pet on a leash when in an area with wild animals, some people just can’t wrap their head around the idea. And most of the time, you’d be doing so for the safety of your own dog… but that’s not exactly how this situation played out in Glacier National Park.

The internet is outraged after this video out of the Montana national park went viral. It shows two people and their “service dog” standing very close to a wild mule deer that had grazed up near the pedestrian walking trail. The deer was keeping a close eye on the pooch, and it’s a good thing it was, because the dog was able to get out of its leash and began chasing the wild animal away.

Tourists that were standing there to witness were in disbelief, and very much convinced that a trained service dog wouldn’t act like the one in hot pursuit of the deer was. One person even got the whole thing on video, and posted it online with these scathing remarks directed at the dog’s owners:

“Sad and disgusted by not one, but two misrepresented service animals getting loose and chasing off wildlife in Glacier National Park. This is a disgrace to people who actually require task trained service animals to enjoy the parks, and makes it harder for their legitimate service animals to work.

Not to mention that this behavior is unsafe for everyone involved, especially in grizzly country! To be clear, I was not filming this with any intention of ‘fake spotting’ the ‘service animals’ in question, I was trying to enjoy the wildlife we encountered hiking (without disturbing it).”

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And that social media user wasn’t the only one that was upset.

Many others who saw the video were outraged by the dog being off the leash – which if you are wondering is very much against the rules at national parks, service dog or not. There was also a fair amount of skepticism in regards to whether or not the dog was actually a service animal:

“They don’t even look like they cared that it ran off.”

“It’s heartbreaking to see things like this. As a service dog handler, we already deal with so much skepticism and hostility just trying to exist in public. This doesn’t help.”

“Why was he holding the dog that close to wildlife in the first place? If you cant control your ‘service dog,’ stay home.”