An incident at a Dumaguete mall, whereby an American national claiming to have a disability was barred from entering the mall last August 17 with his dog, has gone viral, with netizens mostly criticizing the mall and the City of Dumaguete.
Mark Cohen, director of the International Institute for Assistance Dog Training, was denied entry by security guards of the Robinsons Dumaguete Place, closing the door as he and his assistance dog named Happy were about to enter.
Cohen and his dog lay down at the mall’s doorstep, prompting security to call police. The police arrived, handcuffed Cohen and brought him and his dog to the police station but did not press charges. He was released.
A Facebook post by Pierce Baylon said that from what happened, “we can just conclude that Robinson’s Dumaguete is not yet PWD (with Service Animals) friendly.” Other posts were harsher, accusing the mall of ignorance of the law on PWDs.
In a message posted also on Facebook, Cohen said he is a medically-certified Person with a Disability and has a neurological disorder which necessitates his having an assistance dog to mitigate that disability.
Cohen clarified that he is not blind and can drive a car, but has variant symptoms similar to epilepsy, Parkinsonism, and sensitivity to changes in the environment such as temperature and intensity of light.
“At one moment I can have a blood pressure measurement of 180/120 and 10 minutes later 70/40, resulting in syncope. I have learnt to live with my disability, do take medication in a compliant manner, and would be unable to function if I did not have my certified Assistance Dog “Happy” as my companion,” he wrote.
Another Facebook user, Ricky Soler, wrote: “If his life is in danger of a sudden unexpected attack should he be endangering himself and burdening other people by exposing himself to these risks in a mall? So Happy is not a guide dog for the blind and Cohen is not blind after all but has some rare disability? What about the other mall customers who could have severe allergies to dogs or who have extreme fear or phobias to dogs? If you don”ºt disagree with Robinson”ºs Mall policies then will you stop patronizing them? Are we sure Cohen has no other agenda hidden up his sleeves?”
In response, Robinson’s Place Dumaguete issued a statement, saying that they have a policy disallowing pets inside the main mall for the safety of all customers.
The statement, which was also posted on Facebook, said the foreign visitor is not blind and even wanted to use the internet facilities.
The Mall claimed that they even offered the man all kinds of help, including the free use of WiFi facilities of a coffee shop in the mall’s al fresco area and providing him a nurse to assist him while he is inside the mall, but he refused all these.
