Doctor Turns Away Guide Dog For The Blind And Owner From Office

Published August 12, 2011

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According to a Fox Philadelphia affiliate, a man with a guide dog for the blind was turned away from waiting in the office of a doctor.

The local Fox affiliate in Philadelphia is reporting that a man with a guide dog for the blind was turned away and refused service in the office of a doctor.

According to the report, Dr. Priya Punjabi, a medical professional in the Philadelphia area, refused to allow local man Joe Cichonski and his dog Hero to wait in the office for his wife's appointment.

"The dog is not allowed in the office, it is a pet," Punjabi allegedly told Cichonski.

The catch: Hero is Cichonski's lifeline, as Cichonski is considered legally blind. He can only see a small bit of light from one eye, and from the other eye he can see nothing. Without Hero, it is impossible for Cichonski to get around.

After the incident in the lobby, the doctor refused to conduct the scheduled examination with Cichonski's wife.

All in all, it's not very nice treatment for a guide dog during a week that is supposed to honor assistance dogs.

Should there be legal ramifications for this doctor's supposed actions? Let us know what you think in a comment!

Ryan Karpusiewicz Ryan Karpusiewicz is the Assistant Editor, Lifestyle, for Digital Works @ NBC U, whose main…

Filed Under: News & Blogs, News
Tags: Dogs, assistance dog, doctor, dogs helping humans, guide dog

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Comments (81)

Anonymous (Unverified)

Added 08-02-2012 10:43am

Look where the Dr. is from...how do they treat dogs there? "Slumdogs" that's how. No wonder she hates them. What a tragedy!

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Anonymous (Unverified)

Added 08-02-2012 10:05am

SHOULD there be legal ramifications??? OF COURSE! The doctor violated a law (ADA) and laws broken have legal consequences. End of story.

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Anonymous (Unverified)

Added 08-01-2012 04:08pm

This doctor needs to be educated about service dogs and FAST. He apparently (we hope) is not aware of the laws regarding service dogs. If he DOES, then the should be sentenced in a court of law. All his patients should BOYCOTT this doctor and this office immediately.

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Anonymous (Unverified)

Added 07-30-2012 02:18pm

This violation is directly against the Americans with Disabilities Act. It's a law - no one can just ignore other's rights.

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Anonymous (Unverified)

Added 07-30-2012 02:14pm

Hero could have very well become a pet to the family he is helping but that doesn't change the fact that he is a guide dog. That doctor needs to fine tune his manners! I hope one day he isn't in need of a guide dog himself; he might feel differently then. Such a shame that someone that should be well educated can be so uncaring and unprofessional. I hope they look for a better doctor, clearly he is not one.

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Anonymous (Unverified)

Added 07-30-2012 12:06pm

I use a service dog myself and it is flat-out wrong to deny the dog and it's handler entrance and services equal to everyone else. It is getting harder and harder though these days because the laws that sanction service dogs are very loose therefore a lot of people ARE bringing pets into stores and claim that they are service dogs. These dogs run around, bark, and misbehave which gives all true service dogs a bad rep. I'm not saying that that is what happened in this case, it's just that store owners are tired of 'fake' service animals as am I when I notice them in pubic.

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Anonymous (Unverified)

Added 07-30-2012 12:05pm

Even better comparison, it would be like a doctor asking me (my prescription is -8.5) to remove my contact lenses or glasses. Simply insensitive and in poor taste.