“DO NOT TOUCH ME!”: Autistic shopper brought their service dog into a store, but a woman caused a scene by claiming the animal belonged to her child

An autistic person’s story has gone viral after his weird interaction with a woman, which netizens have seemingly identified as a “Karen”. According to Bored Panda, this interaction took place in a shopping center, where an autistic man brought in a service dog. When the woman saw the dog with that person, she reportedly created a scene, trying to justify that her son needed it more than the man. She even questioned the person’s autism, claiming that he could be faking it. 

The autistic person shared his story on Reddit, stating that while he was in the store looking for clothes for himself and his service dog, a woman appeared, said that dogs are not allowed in here, and seemed to warn him to call security. She continued with her words, and that seemed to trigger his autism. At one point, it looks like he also said, “DO NOT TOUCH ME!” He seemingly argued that he is, in fact, autistic, and it’s a service dog, but she continued.

After her yelling, declaring that dogs are not allowed, she started changing stance, telling him that he was faking it and his son would need it more than him, and took the leashes off of him as she said, “The person here is faking. They have scammed a program to give them a dog for their autism.”  At that moment, the security guard stepped in and, after checking his documents, gave the leash to the person who had seemingly tried to steal the dog multiple times. The guard, according to the person, escorted him to keep the woman away.

It appears that many Redditors were on the man’s side

His story seemingly went viral, and many viewers appeared to be on the man’s side. One of the commenters said, “Def. press charges… that’s just bonkers; someone who is not your doctor can come up to you and say what your needs are without knowing anything about you.” Another one added, “That’s a really horrible situation, and I’m really sorry you went through that. Nox sounds like the goodest of girls, and she’s lucky to have you as her owner and friend. I hope you have a win and a smile soon!!”

The woman mentioning her son might sound like bad parenting to some. A person raised another point, claiming that the woman should be charged for pressing charges. They said, “If you are up to it, then it would be worth pressing charges against Karen. There will likely be enough CCTV evidence as well as the statement from the SG. She should pay for her crimes.” 

In my opinion, such viral shopping confrontations often make the headlines. Even though the autistic man seemingly confirmed he had spoken with his lawyers, it appears the woman didn’t break any law, so he can’t press charges. Although he could not hold the woman accountable, he thanked everyone for their support. The reporting is based on this person’s Reddit post. The identities of the person and everyone involved are not yet disclosed, including the backstory.