These are but a few of the many examples, of what seem to be almost weekly encounters where our Veterans are met by ignorance AND a disrespect of our returning Troops.
Today? From the CBC comes this:
Former soldier's service dog refused entry to gym
Human rights complaint planned by man suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder
CBC News Posted: Sep 23, 2013
A former soldier, who now lives in Vancouver, is filing a complaint with the New Brunswick Human Rights Commission against a Moncton fitness club.
Kevin Berry, 30, served in Afghanistan and says he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder. He travels with his service dog Tommy to help him cope with his PTSD symptoms.
"Tommy wakes me up during nightmares, Tommy walks in and clears my house when we get home," said Berry.
Last week, Berry and Tommy were passing through Moncton as part of a walking tour between Nova Scotia and Ontario to raise awareness about post-traumatic stress disorder.
Berry says they went to Global Gym on Mapleton Road so he could work out, but were denied entry even though Tommy wears a service dog vest and comes with a government-issued ID card.
"They never once asked what Tommy was for," said Berry. "It was, `No,' right away."
Berry says after being denied entrance by a club employee, he contacted the gym's owner by telephone. He says the man laughed at him and said he'd never allow pets at his gym.
"My human rights were violated by the staff at Global Gym and the ownership," said Berry. "It wasn't just the injury, [there was] definitely an insult aspect to it after speaking with the owner on the phone."
'That's unacceptable'
[...]
Yes, it is totally unacceptable and yes, there is MUCH more here,
It seems to me we need to educate this Global Gym owner. In the CBC story, they do not have any contact info for this business, but they do have their address and phone number on a FaceBook page .
I DO have the owner's private telephone number, but because I'll show him more respect than he showed for this Veteran, I won't share it here.
However, I AM asking each of you to do what YOU can, with the information given, to take this opportunity to educate this business owner, and show tangible support for Kevin.
You have your mission: Release the hounds..
1 comment:
How can people be so dumb? No one knows what another goes through and even if it is not their business to know, you can tell by the ID card, the vest etc that service dogs are service dogs.
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