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 couldnât 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 didnât 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. âThey didn't want to do it again,â she said. âLike they've never done it before kind of thing and they wouldn't look at what they've done before or consider it again.â
Sadowski says she realizes it was a special situation. âBut I have proved I can deal with this special situation,â she says. âIâve already done it.â
Via says its policy is to permit âone guide dog or emotional support dog per passenger,â adding that âthis policy complies with the Canadian Transportation Agencyâs Code of Practice ⌠as well as with all requirements under the Canada Transportation Act.â
âWe have reinforced the details of our policy in internal documents and on our website,â the statement goes on. âWe sincerely regret the inconvenience caused by this incident,â Via added.
Sadowskiâs father Mark Sadowski says that he believes the situation could have been dealt with differently.
âThe person I talked to only wanted to talk over me, didn't want to hear my story,â he said. âThe next person above her was supposed to call me. I was promised phone calls twice and never received a phone call back.â
Emily Sadowski adds that âit's a struggle with the service dogs -- it shouldn't be.â
With a report from CTV Windsor