A PET owner whose assistance dog has been the victim of a string of attacks is calling for more awareness on the issue.

Michael Colville, 26, from Braintree, claims he has been struggling with the issue for four years, including attacks on different assistance dogs he has had.

Assistance dogs are trained to support disabled people and people with medical conditions in a variety of ways.

Michael suffers from anxiety and has his four-year-old border collie Holly-May trained as a psychiatric assistance dog to help in special situations such as anxiety attacks and other health difficulties.

He has seen his dog attacked several times and says something needs to be done.

Michael said: “Holly-May has been attacked or lunged at several times.

“Owners have come along and told their dogs to attack mine. More often than not this just happens because people find it funny.

“Most assistance dog owners I have spoken to say they face this problem most days.”

It is not the first time Michael has had trouble with assistance-dog issues - he was once prevented from attending Essex University as Holly-May is not an accredited service animal under Assistance Dogs UK.

However, Michael claims she still has all the same rights as ADUK dogs which allow her to be with him in places like supermarkets.

Other assistance dog owners have been refused entry to places and have faced similar problems.

Now, Michael is trying to spread the word about the importance of assistance dogs and the issues that owners face.

He said: “Holly-May and I go to Anglia Ruskin University in Chelmsford regularly to hold dog therapy sessions and to educate students on assistance dogs as well.

“It is the perfect time to talk to them about assistance dogs as I find nowhere teaches about it.

“If more people are made aware of assistance dogs and how to act around them and see that guide dogs are not the only assistance dogs out there, people can be more respectful.

“They may even be able to help someone if they see them with an assistance dog and are having trouble.”

More information on assistance dogs can be found at bit.ly/3PLKgyT.