ST. PAUL - Service dogs are a lifeline for the blind.  Many find it hard to believe someone would hurt a service dog — but it happens.

"I never would have expected something like that to happen," Lolly Lijewski told a legislative committee last week while describing a trip to a store that ended abruptly.

A woman actually kicked Lijewski's dog.  "In the foyer, I felt my dog's legs buckle," she said.

Lijewski didn't know what was wrong until a witness came forward and got security. Lolly said, "The one question that has come from everyone without exception is who would do such a thing?"

Apparently, more people than you would think.  Lolly went on to share what had happened to a friend of hers, who is also blind.  "The individuals in both cases, rammed a stroller – with a child in it – into the dog forcefully," she said.

Now, new legislation could make the penalties for such abuse huge.  "This bill adds, and we demand as a mandatory penalty the right of restitution," said Chris Bell of the American Council of the Blind.

With years of training, service dogs can be worth $50,000.  If there is damage —physical or psychological–that makes the dog unable to serve....the suspect would have to pay up.

"If they can't work, they have to be replaced or substituted. Very disrupting for people's lives if they suffer with blindness," Bell said.

"These dogs, in a sense, are our lifeline," Lijewski said.  "They get us around everyday they are supremely trained."

The bill sailed through its first hurdle, Well on its way to becoming law.