Pakatakan Farmers Market — Attraction in Town of Middletown

Discriminatory and Misguided Treatment of Service Animals at Pakatakan Farmers Market:

I recently had an appalling experience at Pakatakan Farmers Market that I feel compelled to share with anyone who relies on service animals. As someone with a legitimate service dog, I was shocked by the discriminatory and disrespectful behavior I encountered.

During my visit to the market with my service dog, I was approached by three different women at different times, each questioning my dog's status. Despite my clear and calm explanation that my dog is a trained service animal and not an emotional support animal, they became hostile and accusatory. They repeatedly insisted that I leave, even after I offered to show them the necessary paperwork to prove my dog's status. Moreover, they did not accept my explanation of the tasks my dog performs, incorrectly asserting that these tasks did not qualify him as a service animal.

Their behavior was not only rude but also a blatant violation of the law. According to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), staff are limited to asking two specific questions:

Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

They are not allowed to demand documentation or proof beyond this, nor are they permitted to question the nature of the disability. My service dog is trained to perform specific tasks related to my disability, and he was impeccably well-behaved throughout this ordeal.

One of the women even went so far as to shove a piece of paper in my face, attempting to "educate" me on the difference between a service animal and an emotional support animal, displaying a complete lack of understanding and respect for ADA guidelines.

I am not someone who typically writes complaints, but this was the worst treatment I have experienced in any place that I can remember.

I want to warn others who depend on service animals to avoid Pakatakan Farmers Market due to their discriminatory practices and sheer rudeness. Their actions not only contravene federal law but also demonstrate a profound lack of compassion and...

I visited Pakatakan Farmers Market today with my Medical Alert Service dog. I was approached by two different women confronting me about my service animal. They both questioned the nature of my service dog to the point that I felt so uncomfortable I offered to show them all of my legal documents. The Americans With Disabilities Act clearly protects disabled people with service animals from this kind of harassment. I have literally never experienced anything like this level of questioning and antagonism in my 20 years of being disabled. I am a severely ill and have multiple letters from my doctors stating that I have life limiting diseases and I am not to be separated from my service dog at any time. I have read in the reviews that other disabled people with service animals have also been discriminated and harassed by staff here. I was completely shocked that anyone would so openly and callously be so aggressive towards a sick person. Not only is it incredibly unprofessional but morally repugnant. I encourage anyone who has had a similar experience to mine to file a complaint...

I am deeply sorry for all the vendors. We needed to leave almost as soon as we arrived. We were treated so badly from the very beginning by the organizers and manager. They are rude, unfriendly . It was my partners birthday, I had that market on the list since weeks ago to start a special day and we were just not welcomed in a horrible rude way because of my service dog. Even though it says in the entrance “Service dogs allowed”. Also who would have thought an open farmers market in nature doesn’t allow dogs? Honestly I have no words for the bad time they made us passed. The manager Georgie even made a gesture with her hands like pointing a gun to us! What...