Windsor teen concerned after Via Rail says she can’t travel with two service dogs. Angelo Aversa has her story. CTV-News Staff, Tuesday, December 5, 2017.
A Windsor, Ont., woman who uses a service dog for her anxiety and other issues is upset that Via Rail would not allow her to board a train with two service dogs.
Emily Sadowski says she was blindsided when she was told she couldn’t take the dogs to Toronto. One of them is hers and the other is one she had trained and was planning to deliver to its new owner.
Sadowski says Via Rail didn’t seem to have a problem the last time she took two service dogs in August.
This time around, she says she was told that her earlier permission had been a mistake. “They didn’t want to do it again,” she said. “Like they’ve never done it before kind of thing and they wouldn’t look at what they’ve done before or consider it again.”
Sadowski says she realizes it was a special situation. “But I have proved I can deal with this special situation,” she says. “I’ve already done it.”
Via says its policy is to permit “one guide dog or emotional support dog per passenger,” adding that “this policy complies with the Canadian Transportation Agency’s Code of Practice . as well as with all requirements under the Canada Transportation Act.”
“We have reinforced the details of our policy in internal documents and on our website,” the statement goes on. “We sincerely regret the inconvenience caused by this incident,” Via added.
Sadowski’s father Mark Sadowski says that he believes the situation could have been dealt with differently.
“The person I talked to only wanted to talk over me, didn’t want to hear my story,” he said. “The next person above her was
supposed to call me. I was promised phone calls twice and never received a phone call back.”
Emily Sadowski adds that “it’s a struggle with the service dogs – it shouldn’t be.”
With a report from CTV Windsor
Original at http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/woman-upset-via-wouldn-t-let-her-take-service-dogs-on-train-1.3708764