Student questions service dog policy
A University of Calgary student says her rights are being violated because she's not allowed to take her assistance dog wherever she needs to go on campus.
"I just don't understand why the school is being so difficult about this," Zelda Sun, who injured her back in a car accident 11 years ago, said. "I'm not asking them to provide me with anything.
"I'm asking them to leave me alone and use the services like everyone else has access to. I really just don't understand what the problem is. [The dog] doesn't do anything. When I sit down, she sits down. If she's in anyone's way, I'll move her."
The psychology student has nerve damage and the inability to lift more than five kilograms. She uses Kiev to help her stay balanced, and to carry heavy books.
The case underlines the need for assistance dogs to be included in provincial legislation that covers guide dogs for the blind, advocates say.
"I think, honestly, it is a challenge," Patricia Pardo, head of the U of C's disabilities resource centre, said. "Because it's not clearly defined, it can be more complicated, because, as I say, there aren't those guidelines."
Pardo says because assistance dogs are covered under Alberta Human Rights guidelines, each institution handles cases individually.
While Sun is allowed to take the dog to class, Kiev is not allowed in other campus areas, including the food court and sports centre.
"They're not allowing me to use any food services. I'm not supposed to even walk through the food court," Sun said. "Sometimes I'm at the school for 12 hours or more. It would be nice if I were allowed to have a snack."
While there is a specific act that provides for guide dogs for the blind to go wherever its owner does, other assistance dogs aren't covered. The dogs are used for tasks ranging from helping the deaf to detecting seizures for epileptics.
The lack of clear legislation makes it difficult for people who continually have to explain their rights to use the dog, including to cab drivers and at the mall.
Pardo says the university requires service dogs to have certification, which complicates things because only two training schools in Canada are certified. And they aren't necessarily recognized in Alberta.
Harley Johnson began a review of the Blind Person's Rights Act a few years ago, and looked at whether assistance dogs should be included in that legislation, or something similar.
Johnson recommended that guide dogs be placed under a new assistance animals act, that would include other dogs as well.
"That was not accepted," he said.