u/IllScientist9078

So, my daughter is 20 years old and has Autism, and mild MR. Mentally she acts like a child between the ages of 5 or slightly older, rather than an adult and is prone to melt downs. She has a dog that is not a registered service animal but is very well trained and very gentle. She's seven years old and we got her as a puppy. She's grown up with my daughter and helps to keep her calm. When my daughter starts to get upset her dog will lay her head in daughters lap and calm her. Stroking and petting her fur also helps to calm my daughter and my daughter feels safe and secure with her dog around. One thing that might be off putting about our dog is her size. She's a red healer and is around 48 pounds. So, the other day I took my daughter to the park to let her swing for a bit because the weather was nice. We took the dog with us who remained on a leash with my daughter. The dog stayed by her side the entire time, never ran around or jumped or even barked at anyone. A woman at the park remarked that we were not at a dog park and that there were small children around and my dog was too large and intimidating and she worried that she could potentially injure a child. I explained to her everything that I had just written above and the woman became angry saying that I was claiming the dog was an emotional support animal, which I had never once used those words, and that ESA were not registered service animals. I told her that I never claimed she was a service animal, just that she helps keep my daughter calm. At any rate she threatened to call the police if we didn't leave so I gathered my daughter and dog and we left. As we were walking to my car, the woman followed and kept going on about how people using ESA's is basically lying about being a service animal and that it's ruining it for people who actually need service animals and that I need to read up on what a service animal actually is and stop using a "fake" service animal and claiming it's an ESA just to take my pet into public places. Honestly, I don't think I did anything wrong. I left when asked to leave, never argued or got irate, and my dog genuinely helps my daughter cope while out in public. I've never taken the dog into a restaurant or store that didn't allow pets and my dog was leashed and not bothering anyone and I never claimed that she was a service dog. Was I in the wrong for taking a large dog to a public park to help my daughter have a peaceful and enjoyable day? I don't think so but I know there is a lot of debate over ESA being legit. Any thoughts or opinions? Would you be upset if you saw us there with our dog?