Petition demands tougher penalties for traumatic attacks on guide dogs

A CRITICAL gap in the law that treats scuffles between ordinary pets no differently to attacks on highly trained guide dogs, has sparked calls for urgent legislative reform.

A Victorian parliamentary e-petition is rapidly gaining momentum and has won the support of Wonthaggi resident Sharyl Brockett. Ms Brockett’s own guide dog Daisy was attacked by another dog outside a local supermarket.

A vision impaired social worker Ms Brockett said she can’t understand why people are allowed in public places with dangerous dogs after her guide dog Daisy was attacked.

“I was in total shock and so was Daisy, it was pretty horrific.”

Sharyl takes Daisy to work every day at the Wonthaggi Hospital.

“Daisy’s really important to me,” said Ms Brockett.

“She’s not just my guide dog, she’s special to me, she’s my support.”

With her specialised training Daisy is not considered a regular pet.

Daisy helps support patients who are feeling down because they are ill in hospital and without their own dogs or pets.

“She’s so well liked at work, she’s loved at the hospital,” Sharyl said.

“It’s important for Daisy to feel safe, guide dogs have a really important job to do. When we’re at a crossing Daisy ensures we cross safely. She has to make sure I’m safe in the community. I also take Daisy to the dog park so she can enjoy time with other dogs.”

Ms Brockett said she had approached council in regard to people registering their dogs, training their dogs and having them vaccinated. “Unfriendly dogs should not be taken into dog parks,” she said.

“Something needs to happen.”

The campaign for stronger legal safeguards for seeing eye dogs, guide dogs, and medical assistance animals has secured crucial political backing.

Supporters of the petition claim the 1994 Domestic Animals Act is outdated.

Currently Section 29 of the Domestic Animals Act 1994 only creates general dog attack offences. The law fails to recognise the special status of service animals as vital mobility and disability aids.

‘An attack on an assistance dog is treated the same as an attack on any animal,’ the petition states. This lack of legal differentiation ignores the devastating reality faced by handlers. When an ordinary pet is injured, the impact is deeply upsetting. When a working assistance dog is targeted, a vulnerable person's entire lifeline is compromised.

For a handler, an aggressive confrontation by another dog causes severe emotional trauma and an immediate loss of independence. Many service dogs subjected to such interference develop anxiety and must be permanently retired from their duties.

Training a single guide or assistance dog is a rigorous process. It takes up to two years and costs upwards of $50,000. When a dog is forced into early retirement due to behavioural trauma from an attack, the financial and systemic toll is immense.

The current legal framework offers no specific criminal offences to address this unique damage. It also fails to penalise the profound disruption to the handler’s life.

The petition requests that the Legislative Assembly call on the Victorian Government to amend the Domestic Animals Act 1994 to create a specific, standalone offence which would carry significantly higher penalties for any person in charge of a dog that attacks, rushes at, or interferes with an active assistance dog.

The petition demands that these tougher laws apply regardless of whether the handler or the service dog sustains physical injuries. Psychological trauma and behavioural scarring can ruin a working dog's career just as permanently as a physical injury.

The act of rushing at or interfering with a guide dog while it is working can disorient the team and place the handler in immediate physical danger. With 1,248 signatures and counting, the petition reflects growing public frustration over the vulnerability of disability service teams in public spaces.

Phillip Chalker another vision impaired Gippsland resident has urged all Victorian residents to sign the e-petition to keep the momentum going. He argues that protecting assistance dogs is a fundamental matter of human rights and public safety.

The petition can be found online at https://c.org/wxTxFGpbk8