What To Do If Approached By A Service Dog - Reminder!

A 20-year-old California woman has shared an important message about what people should do if they are approached by a service dog without its owner. Tessa Connaughton, who has autism and epilepsy, tells BuzzFeed that her dog Raider is trained to seek help if she has a seizure. Connaughton recently tripped and Raider took off, thinking she needed assistance. Once Connaughton gathered herself, she went looking for Raider and found him trying to get the attention of a visibly annoyed woman who was trying to swat him away. Connaughton was embarrassed at the time and quickly left with Raider, but later realized that some people may not be aware of what to do when they are approached by a service animal. "What if I had actually been having a seizure?" she wondered. Hence, she wrote in a now-viral Tumblr and Twitter post, "If a service dog without a person approaches you, it means the person is down and in need of help. Don't get scared, don't get annoyed, follow the dog!"