Q: I was turned down to adopt a dog because I would not bring my son to meet the dog at the Frederick County animalshelter.
My son is fine with dogs, but has specific mental health issues that would make meeting the dog with myself and my spouse in the shelter useless. Because of his mental health issues since Covid, his demand avoidance is very high, and if he is in a "mood" when we go to meet the animal, the entire time would be spent in circular arguments with my son about why I shouldn't be adopting a dog, instead of spending the
time with the dog. The shelter has a rule that everyone in the household must meet the pet at the shelter to make sure everyone gets along with the dog. These types of rules limit me from adopt a dog and push me towards breeders, which I would prefer not to do. Would something like this amount to any type of mental health discrimination? Would I get in trouble if I just leave my son off the application next time? I do have an email where I expressly concerned the problem with the meeting do to my son's mental health, but that is why they turned me down.
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