Service dogs have special legal protection. One can go anywhere its owner goes, fly free on airplanes and live in all housing, regardless of pet policy. The special animals protect and serve people with disabilities, but fake service dogs are on the rise, and for selfish reasons. "It's a huge issue," Smoky Mountain Service Dogs Chairman Mike Kitchens said. "People just go on the Internet, buy a vest and slap it on their dog just because they want to go to the grocery store with their dog." Popular auction websites make it easy to buy a vest and service dog certificates. However, normal pet canines receive significantly less training and financial input than trained ones, such as Vanner, who lives at the Smoky Mountain Service Dogs facility in Lenoir City, Tennessee. "It's disheartening to those of us that do it appropriately," Kitchens said. "A dog like Vanner is trained for two years, about 15 to 1,800 hours, and it's about a $20,000 dog." Passing off a dog as a trained service is illegal. It can also be very expensive if the dog hurts someone because the owner is always liable. "If your animal actually bites someone while that animal is supposed to be under your control, then you would be exposed to liability, and I think that liability would be increased if you represented your animal as a quote-on-quote service dog," Attorney T. Scott Jones said. The law protects service dog owners from being asked too many questions. Dog trainers say the best way to stop the spread of fakes is personal honesty.
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Please bring your welding gear as you will be taking an actual weld test when you arrive. SIGNING BONUS of $800 $400 after 30 days of FT PTMW Employment $400 at time of 90-day review EXCELLENT BENEFITS PACKAGE OTHER PERKS/EVENTS MONETARY PERKS PTMW is a drug free company and all applicants must pass a pre-employment drug screen. In addition, to be considered for employment you must be able to pass our physical capacity profile test, have a valid driver’s license and you must be able to provide us with a copy of your license. Applicants may apply in person between 8:00 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. at 5040 NW US Highway 24, Topeka, KS 66618 or email resumes to our Human Resource Director, Janice Bates at jbates@ptmw.com. Nine questions most civilians are thinking about, but are too scared to say out loud. When a civilian like me starts asking a veteran certain questions, things can get awkward, fast. The reality is, though, that even if we have enough tact not to ask, we’re still going to wonder. Let’s face it; in many ways, veterans and civilians are from different planets. Still, this doesn’t mean that you can’t learn to speak each other’s language, appreciate each other’s culture, and even inhabit one another’s worlds. Here’s what your civilian friends are really wondering about you and what they really mean when some of these uncomfortable questions inevitably slip out.
1. Did you see some really messed up stuff over there? Crude and insensitive, this question covers all the negative bases. Though we all try to be tactful — and we all know what morbid curiosity feels like — this question is the one that slips out when that curiosity gets the best of us. We’ll probably never actually ask you this, but what we are wondering is if the things we learned about war from the media and movies are actually accurate. 2. Did you ever kill anybody? Let’s just get this one out of the way. Hopefully, none of us will ever ask you this question, as it’s a sensitive subject and obviously none of our business. Still, if it does end up slipping out, please go easy on us. We’re still trying to wrap our heads around the concept of killing as a necessary evil that’s actually permitted in war at our government’s behest — something that is probably only possible to really understand when you’ve faced a grave threat to your own life and stared down the barrel of someone else’s gun. We ask ourselves if we’d have the courage to do the same — a question that bears no moral judgement on you, but rather whether or not we would ultimately ever have the guts to pull the trigger too. 3. What the heck did you actually do in the military, anyway? Unless we are military brats ourselves, most civilians sadly have no clue how the U.S. military works. You’re going to need to spell it out for us — don’t tell us that you were a “door gunner” and expect us to get it; say “I shot guns at bad guys from a helicopter.” If you were a cook or worked a desk job, we want to know that too, because we care about you. We understand that every role in the military is essential and requires courage and self-sacrifice, not just the “sexy” jobs. 4. Can I say, “Thank you for your service?” Many of us were brought up to believe that this is the right thing to do, and when we say it, we sincerely mean it. When facing an active-duty or veteran service member, most of us are keenly aware of the fact that you’re the one who had the balls to serve — not us — and we truly are grateful for it. At the same time, we know that there’s been backlash from some service members who feel that this statement is either inappropriate or insufficient, so we’re often not sure whether or not to say it or keep quiet. 5. Are you suffering, and if so, can I help? We’re all aware of the prevalence of post-traumatic stress and the pressing issue of the veteran-suicide rate, we also don’t want to force any assumptions on you by asking how you’re doing, especially if the answer is “Just fine, thank you.” All we really want you to know is that we’re eager to be there for you, help you, support you, and listen to you without judgement. We just want to be there for you if you need us, no matter how much we trip over our words when offering our support. 6. Are you still the same person that you were before you went to war? Maybe we knew each other back in high school, before we both went our separate ways and you enlisted. Reconnecting after following such divergent paths, we may need your reassurance that you’re still the same person that you were before, and if you’re not, we need to know how you’ve changed, so that our friendship can evolve into new and authentic patterns of interaction. 7. Can you only really relate to other veterans now? We admire and respect you, which is why we want to be your friend. We’re also keenly aware that there’s a huge part of your life that we can never fully understand unless you choose to share it with us. We can’t help but wonder if this means that you’d just rather be friends with other vets (though we hope that’s not the case). 8. What was it really like “over there?” Everyone knows that there is no real substitute for actual experience. Each news outlet has its own bias, and Hollywood’s representations of warzones are for the most part a lost cause. For many of us, while we might be able to ask an uncle about Vietnam or a grandparent about World War II, having the chance to ask a member of our own generation about the realities of war is a rarity. While we might be hesitant to ask, we’re intensely curious about everything from where you slept and what you ate to what it feels like to lose a friend on the battlefield. 9. What do you think about this politician/conflict/issue? I know that it probably gets exhausting when everyone expects you to have the definitive opinion on every issue that makes the headlines. But just recognize that in many ways, your wisdom and experience are the closest that most of us will ever come to understanding what it would actually feel like to be one of the proverbial “boots on the ground.” If you don’t have an opinion, that’s okay too. Of course, let’s not be naive: Some people really are just ignorant jerks who ask obnoxious questions and assume the worst of you. Your true friends are none of the above, but they still might wonder some of the same things. The bottom line is that your true friends love you, and whatever awkward thing that they say or ask, know that it’s coming from a place of good intentions. A little bit of mutual understanding here goes a long way, and you’ll both grow wiser and more compassionate in the process. SALUTE OUR HEROES FESTIVAL is on a mission to be one of the largest celebration of service in our country. Organized by the Military Veteran Project, it carries on the traditions of honoring the service and sacrifice of veterans , offering the public the opportunity to show their support for those who serve on our nation's most visible stage in the State Capitol of Kansas, Topeka.
Learn how you or your group can join us in festivities by registering to participate in Topeka Veterans Parade or as a vendor for Salute Our Heroes Festival MORE >> Sponsor packages and donation information MORE >>Join OUR team! Individuals and Groups Welcome! MORE >> Salute Our Heroes Festival & Topeka Veterans Parade is a program organized by the Military Veteran Project a non-profit organization dedicated to prevention of military suicide. The Festival & Parade assist with mobilizing public support for our veterans, connecting our veterans with resources, and assisting organizations serving our veterans. |
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