A Niagara Falls woman is speaking out after VIA Rail allegedly barred her from bringing her therapy rabbit on a train.
Nineteen-year-old Autumn Evoy had been visiting her parents in Paris, Ont. when she tried to book a VIA Rail train home over the weekend.
Evoy, who experiences anxiety and panic attacks, claims a VIA Rail representative told her that she would not be able to bring her therapy rabbit, Thumper, with her.
Evoy tells CTV Kitchener, “I feel a lot more confidence knowing that he’s with me to comfort me in the times that I’m anxious. They really should be compassionate to people with disabilities and more understanding and accommodate them.”
In a statement sent to CTV , a VIA Rail spokesperson says the company’s policy “is in accordance with the Canadian Transportation Agency’s Code of Practice.”
The code defines a service animal as “an animal that is required by a person with a disability for assistance and is certified, in writing, as having been trained to assist a person with a disability by a professional service animal institution.”
The law does not specify what animals fall under this category.
Evoy will attempt to get home today on the GO train.
The young woman will be on CKTB tomorrow morning with Matt Holmes.