Rachel O'Connor, who has a rare neurological condition, has said she was told she looked "too good" to be disabled when her assistance dog was denied entry to a building.
O'Connor, from Kerry, Ireland, was diagnosed with Ataxia, a condition affecting co-ordination, speech and balance, as a child. She now claims she has been discriminated against while trying to enter some businesses and buildings with her assistance dog, Justin.
Refused entry despite assistance dog
O'Connor said she has been refused entry from places several times while with Justin, despite the dog being a trained assistance animal. She said she has been turned away due to policies prohibiting dogs.
Speaking to the Irish Independent, O'Connor, who works for the disability non-profit Enable Ireland, said: "It is happening to me in a few places in Tralee. It's really frustrating when all I'm trying to do is go about my day. They will usually say to me, 'No dogs are allowed.' When I tell them he is an assistance dog, some will leave it at that, but there are others who don't."
"You looked too good" claim
O'Connor also claimed someone told her she looked "too good" to have an assistance dog. She said: "One person in a premises asked me why I needed an assistance dog. When I told him I had a disability, he said I looked too good to have an assistance dog. I was really surprised when he said that."
O'Connor, who did not name the businesses, said she had emailed to complain but had not yet received a response. She added that staff should be better trained in 2026 to avoid these situations.
Discrimination since starting work
Justin was given to O'Connor by the Cork-based charity Dogs for the Disabled, which provides assistance dogs to disabled adults and children for free. O'Connor, who has had the dog for eight years, said the discrimination has been happening over the last two years since she started work.
She said: "It's becoming more frequent. To be honest, I'm sick of it. I've tried to explain things to people and give them some leeway, but it keeps happening."
O'Connor is also a member of the Independent Living Movement Ireland, an organisation whose aim is that "disabled people achieved Independent Living, choice and control over their lives and full participation in society as equal citizens", according to the ILMI website.
