You’ve seen me. I’m the lady in a power wheelchair with a yellow Labrador at her side. He’s a service dog (extraordinaire), and I’m his imperfect handler.

In my life, I have many roles — mom, friend, attorney, and volunteer. My dog, on the other hand, has one job: To pay attention to me.

When he are I are indoors in public, he’s always on leash. I know you love animals and that dogs love you, but I ask for your understanding that he’s working, now, and please try not to distract him.

Yes, he’d rather have his head rubbed and his nose scratched, but I need him to listen to me and be attentive to the sudden moves of my wheelchair. Most of all, I need him to obey me. He’s less likely to do that if he sees an outstretched hand.

My service dog isn’t required to wear a vest in public (though he does), and I don’t carry or need a card that says he’s certified.

Yet you’ll know my dog when you see him because he’s well trained by PAWS With a Cause, well behaved, and he will assist me with tasks associated with my disability.

Distracting a service dog can have dangerous repercussions. Imagine distracting a dog whose job it is to keep a child with autism from wandering off; or distracting a dog trained to alert a person with hearing loss to danger.

Some dogs alert their owners before a seizure, or bring response tools to their owner to interrupt a seizure. And of course there are dogs trained to keep safe their handlers with limited vision.

You have every right to ask me if my Labrador is a service dog. You can also ask what task he’s been trained to perform for me.

Importantly, you can ask us to leave if my dog is disruptive or not under my control.

It is not your right to require a certification card, or to ask what my disability might be.

I won’t be pushing my dog in a stroller or letting him wander or pull. If my dog does misbehave — or gets inappropriately distracted — I will need to correct him.

I thank you in advance for ignoring my dog when you see us in public. I thank PAWS With a Cause, a Michigan based nonprofit organization, for providing me, free of charge, with a well-trained service dog.