Alexandre De Gunzburg, who counts on a 2-year-old Belgian Malinois named “Laze” for help with mobility and medical alerts, said there are many misconceptions about service dogs.

De Gunzburg uses his @jaxonlaze account on Instagram to share videos and photos to educate others about the science, the law, and how to spot fakes.

“Laze” wears a “Do Not Pet” vest. His job is too important, and he has to remain focused on De Gunzburg, who also had to participate in the training for more than a year.

“For a dog to be a service dog, it has to be task-trained,” De Gunzburg said. “If it is not task-trained, I don’t care how obedient your dog is, I don’t care how sweet or how calm it is, it’s just not a service dog.”

For their relationship to work, De Gunzburg said he also has to remain task-oriented.

“If I train my dog properly, not only will it benefit him, but it will benefit me. I’ll be a better person for it. And that’s when I realized, and I didn’t want to accept this at first, there are a lot of things that I need help with,” De Gunzburg said.

At the gym, De Gunzburg said “Laze” helps to keep him safe, but he also has to make sure he is keeping “Laze” safe.

“It’s up to me to manage him and protect him and put him out of the way, because if that woman steps on him, I’m not saying it’s not her fault, but she shouldn’t be looking out for a dog. Right? That’s not her job,” De Gunzburg said.

As the duo navigates life, it has become evident that some people do not understand the Americans with Disabilities Act, a federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination.

“If you walk into my store, I’m allowed to ask you two questions ... ‘Is this dog a service dog?’ and ‘What tasks is he trained to perform?’”

David Johns said he noticed De Gunzburg and his dog at the supermarket.

“The guy was walking him, looked like he was in training of some sort, and looks like he’s doing a very good job of it,” Johns said.

Devon Auerbach said he also noticed the seriousness of it.

“The dog is not coming up to other people and everything, and I do think that it is most important -- to be respectful,” Auerbach said.

Alexandra Sweeney-Vesty said she was tempted to pet the dog.

“I thought it was a gorgeous animal that I wanted to interact with because I love animals, but I respect this,” Sweeney-Vesty said. “He is obviously a working animal.”

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