“I was told to leave Shoe Zone with my assistance dog after the store worker claimed she was allergic”

The Kimberworth woman, who does not want to be named, was on a coach day trip with Global Holidays to Wales on July 30 when the incident happened. 

It marked the first time she had left her house in around six months due to her mental health illnesses - complex post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression.

The 32-year-old said she had barely stepped a foot into the door of Shoe Zone on Mostyn Street, in Llandudno, with her husband and her assistance dog when a staff member asked them to leave, claiming she was allergic to dogs.

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She offered to show the worker her support dog ID card, but it was not accepted.

Her husband, aged 60, said: “I was disgusted with them. We just turned around and walked out, we didn’t want to cause a fuss.

“When we spoke to the manager on the phone after he was very apologetic and said assistance dogs are welcome.

“We had been looking forward to it, trying to get her to actually leave the house is a nightmare some days. I knew it would set her back.”

The woman described the experience as “discrimination”, and she has since cancelled all upcoming medical appointments and future day trips due to a decline in her mental wellbeing.

She’s now using the experience to show assistance dogs can be used for many different purposes, and can be many different breeds, such as her pug cross Cavalier King Charles Spaniel.

“I don’t think people realise assistance dogs come in all different shapes and sizes, and they’re not just for sight loss,” she said.

“I was annoyed and upset. I felt like an outcast. I want people to realise assistance dogs are allowed to go into places and not get discriminated against.

“We feel like we can’t be in society when things like this happen.”

Shoe Zone was approached for a statement.