LEGAL RIGHTS OF SEEING EYE DOGS TO ENTER PUBLIC PLACES OFTEN MISUNDERSTOOD

As a child, Monika Volpi was called clumsy because she was always running into things.

“I wore glasses for years but when I was older I started having incidents in the car, like not actually seeing what’s in front of me,” she said.

“After I nearly ran into the back of a truck. I really got a fright and I thought ‘something’s not right’.”

Ms Volpi was 40 when she was diagnosed with the genetic Stargardt’s disease and declared legally blind.

She said she went through an extremely tough grieving process and it took a long time to adjust. During that time she relied heavily on her husband and had to adapt to an entirely different way of living.

“I went everywhere with him, and I would not leave the home on my own.

“So I lost my independence totally.”

But her life changed for the better once she made the decision to enlist the help of a seeing eye dog.

‘I get very emotional’

With the help of her current seeing eye dog, Windsor she is able to get out on her own.

“I get very emotional because it is wonderful,” she said.

“When I did get my first dog, it was ‘wow, this is independence. I’m back’.

“It was just one of the most exhilarating things in my life.”

Ms Volpi has a set routine during the week and regularly walks to the public swimming pool in her hometown of Margaret River in Western Australia.

“So Windsor has to navigate and keep me from not tripping over the debris, not bumping into rubbish bins, trolleys, and even around cars that are halfway on footpaths and things like that. It’s quite challenging for me and but he is just amazing.

“We come home and he usually gets little treats after very special things that he does correctly and when he gets me out of trouble.”

While her local community has warmly embraced Windsor it has not always been smooth sailing.

“Over the years I have been stopped,” she said.

“I’ve been stopped in restaurants, I’ve been stopped on trams when I was going to Victoria. They just tell me to get off.

Legal right to public places

Under federal law, seeing eye dogs are allowed to enter most public places in Australia.

Despite this, dogs and their handlers are still regularly denied access to restaurants, taxis and other indoor venues.

Chris Edwards, manager of government relations and advocacy at Vision Australia has been a seeing eye dog handler for almost 10 years.

In a single week, Mr Edwards was once denied entry into two rideshare vehicles and a restaurant.

He said being denied access to a public place someone is legally entitled to enter with a seeing dog is embarrassing and discriminatory for handlers, but is unfortunately still common.

“The access rights of seeing eye dogs and their handlers are protected by law across Australia, but unfortunately we still need more awareness about where they are allowed to go,” Mr Edwards said.

“It prevents people from being able to independently access and participate in the community, which they have every right to do.”

Keep an open mind and eye out for a harness

Ms Volpi says she is grateful for all the people who let her in to their shops and vehicles without fuss.

“Just keep an open mind and be friendly,” she said.

“We’re all doing our best. It’s hard for us as well and we need these dogs to keep us up and running, so to speak, and to be able to have the independence that we deserve to have.”