Autistic man turned away from zoo for unregistered service dog
An Alberta mother said she’s disappointed her autistic son’s service dog was denied entry to the Calgary Zoo because the animal hadn’t been registered beforehand.
Danielle Girard and her son, Matthew, drove from Lacombe, just north of Red Deer, to visit her friend in Calgary and had planned a trip to the zoo. They arrived tickets in hand with Matthew ’s service dog Fletcher, but were told they couldn’t enter because Fletcher wasn’t registered.
“Their policy certainly hasn’t been communicated to the people who have guide dogs,” Girard said. “We kept being told (at the gate) that you had to pre-register, but how would we even know that we had to pre-register?”
Girard said she was equipped with proof that Fletcher was a registered service dog and had his rabies shots. The last time she had been to the zoo, roughly eight years ago, there was no trouble entering with the same documentation, she said.
Calgary Zoo spokeswoman Trish Exton-Parder said all service animals are required to be registered online before a visit, a policy that’s been in place for the past five years.
Exton-Parder said the information is well advertised on the zoo’s website, and registration is required so that staff can go through the paperwork ahead of time to ensure it’s legitimate and up to date.
“The reality is because we have a live collection of animals, all our animals can carry diseases and dogs can carry diseases,” she said.
“If somebody doesn’t have the proper vaccinations and hasn’t taken the time to fill out the form and let us know they ’re coming, we can’t allow them in because it’s a danger to their dog and a danger to our animals.”
The online registration form requires information about the dog ’s vaccination records and a copy of the dog ’s certification card. ExtonParder said the zoo has worked closely with animal agencies to create this policy and registration form.
While Girard said she understands the zoo’s policies, she said it was still hard to be turned away.
“I appreciate that the zoo wants to protect their animals, but if they’re going to have these kinds of policies, then they really do need to make it publicly known,” she said.