A disabled woman was left shaken after her mobility assistance dog was attacked at Cribbs Causeway by another dog that should not have been there. Chloe Anne Hammond said her dog Ocho was bitten by a smaller dog, which she believed to be a Chihuahua, brought in by another shopper in a handbag.
The nurse said the recent attack at The Mall happened in an area where dogs are not allowed. Although some individual stores like John Lewis operate a dog-friendly policy, the shopping centre's website states that it "does not permit pets coming into the centre, with the exception of assistance animals".
This means that, for example, if someone was just visiting John Lewis and using the John Lewis entrance, they would be allowed to bring their dog - but as soon as they step foot outside the shop into the shopping centre itself, their dog would not be allowed unless it was a certified assistance dog.
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Ms Hammond regularly visits the shopping centre with Ocho, who enables her to live independently, but she is now concerned about her dog’s safety and wants the Mall to properly enforce its own rules. She said Ocho was not impacted by the bite but such incidents put working dogs at risk, which could stop her and others from being able to work and live independently.
Ms Hammond is also upset by the way she was treated by security staff, and said they did not immediately remove the woman with the small dog but instead questioned her and Ocho without realising he was an assistance dog. The Mall's management has since replied to her complaint, explaining that the policy is sometimes difficult to enforce but they will be writing to each individual shop to remind them of their dog policy.
Ms Hammond shared her experience on Instagram, writing that the smaller dog "fully went for Ocho, launching out of its bag" as they came out of a shop. She said she felt "disappointed that it took an attack of an assistance dog for security to take notice".
When she initially told security staff about the other dog, she claimed that they initially tried to remove her and Ocho. She said the woman with the dog in her handbag was escorted out only after she began to "shout and scream" at her, telling her that her pet was "scared of the wheelchair".
Ms Hammond also posted information about the incident on a Bristol Facebook group, and said many dog owners replied to admit to taking their dogs into forbidden areas and hiding them under a coat or in a bag. She said she feels there is a lack of awareness when it comes to disabilities and the difference between an assistance dog and a regular dog.
Ms Hammond told Bristol Live: “I think [The Mall] needs a better understanding of what an assistance dog is and should enforce their own rules. I think there’s a massive misunderstanding when it comes to mobility assistance dogs and guide dogs.
“It costs around £36,000 to train these dogs and to risk all that because it gets bitten by a pet, is so scary. I would have been waiting about three years to get another one.
“I’m a nurse and I need him everyday. I wouldn’t be able to do my job.
“The woman with the dog in her bag told me that her dog wasn’t aggressive, it was just scared. She said it was my wheelchair that had scared the dog.
“They’ve got a 'no dogs' policy for a reason and it’s to keep me and my dog safe. There is also a responsibility on the pet owner that the dog is well behaved and calm.”
The Mall's response
A spokesperson for The Mall shared an email sent in response to Ms Hammond's experience. In the email, the director of The Mall stated that dogs are not permitted - but they cannot prevent individual stores from allowing dogs into their shop, such as John Lewis.
Pret allows dogs for customers using the takeaway facility and Hotel Choc says it welcomes ‘friendly dogs’, while other stores such as Fat Face do not have a policy on dogs. The director's email continued: “Clearly the challenge we have is enforcing the ‘no dogs’ rule when customers do not necessarily understand the ‘welcome’ extends only to the store and not to the centre."
The Mall spokesperson added that they were not aware of a complaint made on Instagram but they were “sorry to hear about Chloe’s experience".
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