How does it feel to be told you're not welcome at cafes, bars, a supermarket and several spa pools?
Ask Linda Giltrap - an experienced trade specialist, a mum and grandma, and certainly, when you meet her, not the person you'd expect to be barred from these public places.
But she was - and all in the last year too. The reason? Her little dog Maisie.
Not only has this left Giltrap feeling anxious when she goes to places, it's also a breach of the New Zealand Human Rights Act. Because Maisie isn't a pet dog, she's a service dog.
Highly trained to help Giltrap who has a genetic hearing loss. Maisie's main role is in the home, to alert her to someone at the door, the cooker timer, or a fire alarm. But she also provides extra confidence out and about.
In May last year, an amendment to the Human Rights Act made it illegal to deny any service to a person because of any service or disability assist dog (not just guide dogs).
But it's around that time that Giltrap was given Maisie to help her, and while the majority of places she visits are helpful, she's been surprised how often she's been turned away.
"It happens often enough to impact me. It makes me very anxious."
She's had a supermarket security guard scream at her to get out. She's had a spa complex manager question whether she even had a hearing problem, probably because she's adept at lip reading.
She wouldn't be without Maisie and the confidence she provides, but Giltrap's tired of having to explain her rights, and tired of not knowing whether she'll be welcome.
She thinks it's high time the Government backed what is now the law, and ran an awareness campaign rather than relying on service dog owners to try to educate people one at a time.
Yuchen Zheng feels the same way. Her dog Echo helps her with social anxiety and a blood glucose disorder. Echo can smell a drop in her glucose levels and alert her so that she can act before losing consciousness.
That's given Zheng a new lease of life, but it's also given her problems she never imagined. Problems with basic needs such as somewhere to live and ways to get around.
Zheng is a student and she looked at applying for accommodation at Campus@Waterview in Auckland late last year. It didn't go well.
When she raised the prospect of bringing a service dog she says she was told that no dogs would be allowed. She went on to explain her rights but says it made no difference.
Zheng said she was also asked about her disability and told she wouldn't be suitable for their accommodation.
The manager, Barbara Henderson-Wragge, has questioned this version of events with Fair Go and said she didn't say dogs weren't allowed, but that she'd need to speak with the accommodation owners.
She added that only one apartment was suitable for dogs and it was already taken. But Zheng disagrees with this version of events, in fact she was so shaken and upset by the situation that she filed a complaint with the Human Rights Commission.
Zheng wanted an apology and to have Campus@Waterview accept that it wasn't allowed to discriminate against someone because they have a service dog.
The Human Rights Commission acts to enable mediation, but we have seen communications between the parties which show that Campus@Waterview management showed a lack of engagement in the process.
Meanwhile, Zheng was worried she wouldn't find anywhere to live. She said she applied for 20-30 shared private rentals but was told time and again that dogs weren't allowed, regardless of being service dogs.
"If it was only one or two then I'd try to communicate and explain the law and the policy but it was too many."
Eventually, she found a rental property sympathetic to her situation and has been settled there for a year. During this time, there's been no progress with the Human Rights Commission. She's found the process so frustrating she's given up and fears nothing will change.
Fair Go contacted the Campus@Waterview manager, Barbara Henderson-Wragge who provided an explanation and an apology of sorts.
"If there has been a misunderstanding, we are sorry. Our student accommodation comprises shared living spaces and we have to balance the interests of potential new residents with existing residents."
It should be possible to balance such interests while also honouring the rights of people like Zheng. Failing to do so is failing to understand New Zealand's human rights law.
But, according to many service dog owners that Fair Go spoke to, a lack of understanding isn't unusual. Zheng said she always calls ahead if she's going to a restaurant and that about half say they don't accept service dogs.
She's also had problems on public transport. The most recent involved an Auckland bus driver telling her she had to put a muzzle on her dog Echo or that he'd call the police to remove her.
Zheng stood her ground knowing that service dogs have the right to be on public transport without a muzzle. She was disappointed that no other passengers backed her.
She was also frustrated by the driver telling the police on the phone that there was a "big, scary dog" on board, rather than explaining it was a service dog.
He refused to engage as Zheng tried to explain her rights and said she was "the second Asian I've had to get the police to remove". Zheng was shocked at this, and that when police arrived, they were also unaware of her rights.
They referred to the Auckland Transport website which unfortunately didn't distinguish between pet dogs and service dogs. They asked Zheng to leave the bus.
Fair Go followed up with Auckland Transport's General Manager Stacey Van Der Putten. She made it clear that service dogs are allowed on buses at any time and without muzzles, and have been for some time.
So why were the driver, the police officer and, according to Zheng, the passengers all unaware? Van Der Putten puts it down to a new policy for pets on buses that was introduced recently.
Pet dogs can travel on Auckland's public transport but only if muzzled. The reason it's different for service dogs is that they undergo two years of extensive training, exposing them to public situations.
Dogs are only provided to clients if there's confidence they won't bark or bite and they can toilet on demand. They're trained to stay calm in any situation.
Van Der Putten told Fair Go that now the pet policy is being made permanent, Auckland Transport will update its website to make a clear distinction between pet and service dogs.
It will also issue revised guidelines to drivers. Fair Go can confirm those changes have now been made.
It's a move that's welcomed by Green MP Ricardo Menendez March who sponsored a bill to strengthen the rights of people with service dogs.
However, he feels that an awareness campaign is vital to avoid the difficult situations often faced by people like Zheng and Giltrap. His own approach to Government met with a disappointing response.
Justice Minister Ginny Andersen said that no education campaign was underway, advising complainants to approach the Human Rights Commission.
Menendez March feels this is like an ambulance at the bottom of the cliff and that a proactive stance would be much more effective.
Fair Go contacted each of the parties who voted on the bill (all in favour) brought by the Green MP, asking whether they would "commit" to an education campaign.
Labour said it would "support agencies in their ongoing work to raise awareness".
National said it would "investigate improving public awareness" commenting that there are "existing networks to build awareness, so it does not need to be an expensive exercise".
The ACT Party also said it would "support" a campaign, while Te Pāti Māor was the only party to clearly state it would "commit" to this type of education.
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