IN support of an elderly Hillcrest resident who was recently prevented from entering a local municipal building with her guide dog, on Wednesday, December 3, advocates for the rights of these animals demonstrated outside the same offices where the incident occurred.

Seated in a camp chair with Shadow, her guide dog, and demonstrators besides her, Adrienne Regester (68), who was denied entry into the Hillcrest eThekwini Municipality offices, held up a poster which read: “Doors should be open to people with guide dogs”.

Among the demonstrators was Grant Smith from Smart Service Dog, and the Association of Assistant Dogs South Africa, who said the day was also significant because it was International Day of Persons with Disabilities, December 3, 2025.

Smith said their advocacy was not limited to guide dogs gaining entry to municipal buildings, but to all other places such as shopping malls, stores and restaurants, among others.

“But also we want to make people aware of the rights of these dogs, that they are allowed into restaurants, they are allowed into shops.

“These dogs are well trained, they are well-mannered and they are non-aggressive, they are not going to bite you. They are there to help somebody with a disability, to allow someone with a disability to be able to function in a normal society, as we classify it, so allowing them to go out to the shops, to a restaurant and have that safety of having a dog there to help them. If they are sight impaired of if they suffer from seizures, warning them maybe 15 to 20 minutes before they have a seizure that they are going to have a seizure, so they can take the precaution of maybe lying down, or taking medication,” said Smith.

Also read: Municipality says guide dog could not be immediately identified

Smith said guide dogs are used by people across the board, including university students, “which is amazing”.

He further applauded that there are restaurants in Polokwane, in the Limpopo Province, which have menus in Braille.

“So we want Hillcrest, Upper Highway area to be part of this journey, to advocate for the entry of trained, certified guide dogs, assistance dogs, to allow them the right of passage,” said Smith.

With regards to Regester’s “difficult” experience, the municipality’s Marketing and Communications Director Mandla Nsele has said the incident stemmed from a misunderstanding because Shadow was not “immediately identified as a guide dog at the time”.

Nsele clarified that guide and service dogs are allowed in all municipal buildings, including Sizakala Customer Service Centres.

@caxtonlocalmedia “Doors should be open to people with guide dogs.” 🐕‍🦺💛 Hillcrest stands together after an elderly resident was turned away. #disabilityrights #AccessibilityMatters #HighwayMail ♬ original sound – caxtonlocalmedia

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