Guide Dogs: Karlee just wanted to get breakfast in her hotel, but she was refused for a reason that’s all too common and illegal

It’s been almost two years since Guide Dog Isla came into Karlee Symmonds life, boosting her independence and taking away the stress of navigating public spaces.

But that anxiety has only been replaced with the fear that the 22-year-old, who lives with blindness, will be refused entry and access to venues because of Isla.

It happens far too frequently, including recently when Symmonds went to get breakfast at a restaurant in a hotel she’d stayed at. Prior to that, she’d had no issues with staff.

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“What’s even worse about it, is it was actually the manager who was refusing the access,” she tells 9honey Pets.

”I think refusals just provoke a lot of anxiety for me and stress – and it’s just really disappointing for me to know that there’s still people out there who aren’t educated and don’t see the value that these dogs have.

“It’s really disappointing to know that people aren’t understanding the magnitude that Isla’s role has for my independence and my overall quality of life.”

Symmonds tried showing her Guide Dogs legal access card – which explains the legislation permitting Guide Dogs everywhere people can go – to the hotel manager, but they weren’t willing to change their mind.

Instead, she and Isla went elsewhere.

Guide Dogs NSW/ACT states: “Guide Dogs working with their handlers have a right to legal access to any event, business, or public premises, and in Public Transport or rideshare vehicles at all times.”

Incidents like that leave Symmonds feeling apprehensive about trying new cafés and having to add extra time to any outing or journey in case of refusal or access barriers.

“It leaves me feeling really excluded and isolated because I just want to get on with my day and and have the same rights as everybody else, and my Guide Dog should have those same rights as well. She is my mobility aid at the end of the day, and I need her to enhance my independence,” she says.

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Symmonds isn’t the only person with low vision or blindness to be refused entry to public venues.

Research commissioned by Guide Dogs has found cafes and restaurants are the most common venues where discriminatory refusals occur.

That alarming fact has prompted Guide Dogs NSW/ACT to use International Guide Dogs day to encourage hospitality venues to educate staff on supporting customers with low vision or blindness as part of the ‘Is Inclusion on Your Menu?’ campaign.

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It’s not just being refused any access to a venue at all; Symmonds has also been told she and Isla can only stay if they sit outside, had staff grab her and direct her to a seat and chairs and signs obstructing her path.

There are also little things staff can do to help make the dining experience more pleasant for people with low vision and blindness. These include telling them where the card machine is to tap and pay and letting them know their drink or meal is on the table.

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“Even just knowing to tell the customer, ‘OK, your drink’s arrived, I’m putting it straight in front of you’ – just so we know because for me sitting there, a lot of the time they will come and put it down and not say anything, and I have no idea that it’s been sitting there for 10 minutes.”

And if you’re ever not sure whether you should help or how to help, Symmonds says: “It’s always fine to ask if we need any assistance some people might say, ‘No, we don’t need any’ and other times we do actually need some help finding something.”

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Symmonds is optimistic that the ‘Is Inclusion on Your Menu?’ campaign will start to change the experience she and others with low vision or blindness have.

“I really just hope we’re able to create more awareness and allow people to really see the extent that these dogs can change our lives,” she says.

“I think it’s really important for people to understand that it’s actually not our disability or our low vision or blindness that’s disabling us and providing the limitations – it’s the barriers of access refusals and a lack of inclusion that is making it really challenging for us and actually limiting what we can and can’t do.”

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