A 19-year-old survivor of the Boston Marathon bombing received an apology from a local retailer after she left in tears when she was told her service dog was not welcome inside.
Sydney Corcoran told a Boston ABC affiliate, WCVB, that she was told to leave a T.J. Maxx store in New Hampshire unless she put her service dog in a shopping cart.
Sydney suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after suffering injuries from shrapnel in the April 15, 2013 blast, and said her service dog, Koda, helps her cope with that stress.
She told WCVB’s Liam Martin that “he’s crucial to my everyday life now,” adding:
“It’s knowing that I have this little support system that’s all my own. He’s my little cheerleader. Honestly, I sleep better now. I used to have a really hard time trying to sleep because my mind would always just be going in overdrive.”
Her mother, Celeste, who lost both legs in the bombing, added: “It’s almost like a miracle, what an animal can do for you when you have that bond and that connection.”
Sydney told WCVB that she was shocked by what happened.
“He had on his service dog vest — bright blue, says ‘service dog’ all over it. The store manager came over to me and said to me, ‘If you want to keep your dog in the store, you have to put him in the carriage.'”
Sydney told the manager that the dog, Koda, was a service animal and wouldn’t fit in a carriage. When the manager informed her it was policy for him to be placed in a carriage, she left the store, embarrassed and called her mother.
T.J. Maxx issued a statement to WCVB apologizing for the matter:
“We are taking this customer matter very seriously. Customers with disabilities who are accompanied by their service animals are welcome in our stores at any time. We have looked into the particulars regarding this customer’s experience and deeply regret that our procedures were not appropriately followed in this instance. We are taking actions which we believe are appropriate, including working with our stores to reinforce the acceptance of service animals.”
Hoping the experience and publicity will raise public awareness concerning service animals, Celeste told WCVB that
“There are so many people with invisible, silent injuries — and the public needs to be aware that their service animals are sometimes their lifeline.”
You can watch a news segment on the incident from WCVB’s YouTube page, and you can follow the Corcorans on their Facebook page, Celeste & Sydney Corcoran Support Page.
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