Kempsey man alleges he was asked to leave because of his assistance dog

"I went in and was told to take Mr Fox and get out; I produced my card proving that my dog is an assistance animal and that I can legally take him anywhere under the Commonwealth Disability Discrimination Act of 1992, but that didn't matter," he said.

"There were a few other customers present, and they didn't appear to be impressed with the way I was treated."

The 64-year-old has had Mr Fox for the past three years, but has needed the help of assistance animals for the last 18 due to serious health issues.

"I stop breathing in my sleep, and Mr Fox senses when that's happening and wakes me up, I have scars on my arms from the number of times I've had to be woken," Johnny said.

"I was not breathing for six minutes once, and that has caused permanent damage."

Aside from the life-saving duty Mr Fox performs, he is also a constant companion to Johnny who can't picture life without his friend.

"Mr Fox is always with me, he keeps me calm, if I didn't have him with me I'm not sure if I could face the world, or interact with people," he said.

"Mr Fox has undergone a Public Access Test (PAT Test), we did it at the local Coles; they were very accommodating. He was taken past all the food sections to make sure he wouldn't get distracted, and he interacted with a wide variety of people to ensure he would not bother anyone."

Johnny hopes that by speaking out about the alleged incident, other people with assistance animals won't have to suffer through similar circumstances.

"I just hope that nobody else with an assistance animal is treated this way, I know of four or five other people with assistance animals in the area, and it would be horrible if they received the same treatment as I did," he said.

"It was completely uncalled for, I hadn't done anything wrong, and neither had Mr Fox, he is a wonderful little fella and very well trained."

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