Passengers with guide dogs deserve apology

Pair won’t muzzle guide dogs, kicked off plane (July 6)

As a rule I hate stereotypes, but one I’ve always been proud to believe in as a Canadian is that we practise everything we preach linked to human rights. According to that, I’m not sure why an organization that represents our nation on a global level felt they had the right to deny travel to some differently-abled members of our society. Any dog that helps people every day is trained through a rigorous program and needs to have a gentle, non-violent nature. Given this, it shouldn’t be necessary for them to be muzzled at all. Any staff member who was involved in this offensive incident at Pearson airport should be ashamed and embarrassed that they contributed toward shaming members of our society who are already judged often enough due to being different. In addition to updating their policies, it stands to reason they owe Amal and Farrah a written apology, although their course of action seems to show they are not enthusiastic about reassessing anything; they would rather “wash their hands” if they could. As it is, I will be telling anyone perceived as different by society at large, especially those who live with service dogs, to avoid travel through Pearson if at all realistic, until their policies evolve to acknowledge that service dogs have the right to accompany those they help during air travel.

AMY SOULE, HAMILTON