Media Personality with PTSD Attacked Over Service Dog

"The employee did not want to let me into the store": After revealing last August that he was diagnosed with PTSD following 450 consecutive days of reserve duty in a role handling fallen soldiers, media personality Oved Perl experienced a difficult incident today (Sunday) with his service dog in Modiin.

"Hear a maddening story that happened just now in a city considered liberal," Perl wrote on his Facebook account. "I arrived for shopping in Modiin ahead of Shabbat. I entered the butcher shop and the fish store, of course with Brian, the amazing service dog. In such places, they are very strict about hygiene, so it is understandable that they asked me, I answered that he is a service dog, and they immediately provided service with a pleasant face."

"I arrived at the greengrocer, and there, unfortunately, I encountered a very unpleasant employee who did not want to let me enter the store. I explained to him what a service dog is, why I need it, and why I am interested in buying vegetables anyway. But unfortunately, the man was very unpleasant and stood his ground."

"The truth is that it was not terrible; I had a friend with me who accompanied me for shopping. Despite the anger at the store, he went in there to buy so that we would have what we needed. But I thought about the next wounded person who would arrive, without an escort, and would not have vegetables? No way. I called the police, explained the situation, and they sent a patrol car to explain the law to the store owners and their obligation to allow disabled people to shop like everyone else, even with a service dog."

"They threw tomatoes at me"

"Unfortunately, the store staff decided to approach in a violent manner. Very quickly they shouted and even threatened me, while a police officer was there and documenting. The officer tried to separate, but their anger burned as they shouted at me to leave and I was not ready to leave. They threw tomatoes at me."

"Yes, yes, if I did not have a recording of this, I would think it was a delusion. I am standing there in a very unpleasant situation, a trigger is rising, my body is physically shaking, I am standing and only asking for cold water. The store staff are standing and throwing vegetables at me in front of the police officer and in front of the camera!"

"The nice police officer suggested that I file a complaint with the police, said there are offenses of threats and of course discrimination against a disabled person. I said that I am not interested in filing a complaint, I only want the store owners to learn for the future to allow disabled people to purchase, especially those who were wounded for them!"

"I left the store, one of the employees is standing outside and calling me 'cuckoo'. Okay, that is not insulting. But it shows that the message did not get through. So let's convey the message to them in a social way: we only buy in a place that allows service dogs to enter."

"Warning before lawsuit"

In another post, he shared: "A lawyer called me this morning, said she represents the owner of the greengrocer. I thought she was apologizing on their behalf for not letting me in and for behaving violently."

"But no. She called to get an address from me to send me a warning letter before a lawsuit. They did not succeed in threatening me in the store, so they are threatening via a lawyer."

"It stresses me out, of course, but there are thousands of soldiers who were wounded in the war so that life here in the country would continue. Sometimes the war reaches close, even from confused Jews."

"I do not have an address to give her because I am still hospitalized and also because it seems they are violent people and it is not worth giving them an address."

"But for the sake of all the other disabled people, I will not surrender. We will cope. I asked the police for the documentation from the store, we will show the videos to those who need to, and we will prove and teach them a lesson in values."