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Released December 12, 2022 • 3 minutes read
Alyssa Harvey, 25, said she was considering making a formal complaint after being turned away by hospital staff at an emergency room in London for bringing her service dog, Bailey, with her. Harvey has had the trained golden retriever for three years to help her cope with a mental illness. (Contributed/Alyssa Harvey)
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A London woman is pushing for more public acceptance of service animals, particularly in hospitals, after her dog was given a rude welcome by staff at a London emergency room.
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Alyssa Harvey, a 25-year-old student at Western University, was upset with how she says the London Health Sciences Center responded to her dog Bailey, a trained golden retriever she has had for three years to help her cope to help a disability.
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Harvey said she was taken to the emergency room at Victoria Hospital by professionals early on Friday with her service dog. Emergency room staff immediately questioned Bailey’s presence, she said.
“They were very resilient from the start. When staff came to speak to me, they wouldn’t let me bring Bailey,” Harvey said in a text exchange on Friday. “Someone had to stay with him in the triage area and they wouldn’t let me in until he left.”
Bailey was being picked up from the hospital by Harvey’s friend and attorney, Arbor Morris, when she was admitted.
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“They (hospital staff) were very resistant to him even when he entered the hospital. They said they had a policy against his hospitalization,” Morris said.
Harvey said she was also split from Bailey when she was inducted into the LHSC last year.
Emergency entrance at the Victoria Hospital in London. (Photo of free press file)
In a statement Sunday, LHSC officials said it strives to provide care and access to its facilities in a manner that “respects the dignity and independence of all.”
“Per the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, people with disabilities may be accompanied by their service animals to portions of LHSC property that are open to the public and other third parties,” the hospital said in a statement.
“If it is necessary to exclude a service animal from any part of the premises (e.g. for infection control reasons, noise related to MRI), staff/members will ensure that other measures are available to accommodate the person with a disability to enable, receive, use and benefit from the care and services of LHSC.”
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Assistance dogs can be used to help people with a variety of disabilities and medical conditions, from guide dogs for the visually impaired to seizure detection dogs and those helping individuals cope with mental illnesses such as post-traumatic stress disorder.
There is no uniform service animal registry in Ontario, but there are specific requirements.
Service animals must be easily identified as being associated with the owner’s disability, such as: a guide dog wearing a vest or harness. Provincial rules also state that an owner can provide documentation from a regulated health professional that the animal is needed for their disability.
The list of regulated healthcare professionals who may provide this documentation includes audiologists, speech therapists, chiropractors, nurse practitioners, physicians, optometrists, and psychologists, psychotherapists, or mental health therapists.
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Under the Ontario Human Rights Code and the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, service animals do not require certificates or ID cards, but owners may be asked for documentation such as those who are visually impaired using a guide dog.
Harvey said she is keeping her medical certificate, a note of Bailey’s exercise program and a copy of his vaccination records with her. Bailey always wears a vest when he’s on duty, she said.
Harvey is considering filing a formal complaint, adding the opposition to her service animal was “extremely frustrating” and made an already difficult emergency room visit worse.
She said Bailey offers comfort and connection and is a deeply important part of her life.
“He gives me my independence back and helps me so much in everyday life to mitigate my disabilities,” she said. “He’s like an extension of me and our bond is so strong.”
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