PDPM > About PDPM > How we chose our name...

How We Chose Our Name

The phrase, “Please don’t pet me,” is near and dear to the hearts of service dog handlers. It frequently appears on patches that are attached to a service dog’s equipment or vest. While not every patch uses that exact wording, each variation reflects the same concept: Do not distract a working service dog.

The mission of Please Don’t Pet Me is to promote a more widespread understanding of service dog teams and to provide the necessary information to foster it. We hope to reach a broad audience; not limited to those who are already involved with service dogs, but extending to those with such little knowledge of service dogs that they’ve never before heard the term.

In the context of this website, “Please Don’t Pet Me,” means more than a “no petting” policy. It represents an entire community of people and their canine partners who help them put the “able” in “disabled.”