McDonald’s kicked her out too, says woman with a St. Bernard for a service dog
A second person with a disability says she and her service dog were asked to leave the McDonald’s restaurant in Alberta, Canada, that reportedly kicked out a man and his dog last week.
Carla Schneider says she was waiting in line to buy coffee in January 2010 when she was approached by an employee of the McDonald’s in Wetaskiwin who asked her about her St. Bernard.
Schneider’s disability stems from a traffic accident that left her with a brain injury and without the use of her right eye, CBC News reported.
McDonald’s said in an email that Schneider was asked to remove her dog, Angus, from the restaurant because she couldn’t “provide the required information for the service dog.”
Schneider says that isn’t true.
“I produced my government of Alberta certification card that qualifies Angus as a service dog and he asked me to explain my disabilities to him,” Schneider said. “Why do I need a dog and why do I have to use a dog that big?”
She said she chose a large breed as her service dog because it helps her with the balance problems caused by her disability.
Schneider complained to McDonald’s at the time of the incident, and received an apology letter and $20 worth of gift certificates, she said.
The McDonald’s is the same one that asked John Dignard and his service dog, Eve, to leave the premises last week because, according to Dignard, customers had complained that the dog smelled.
The manager of the McDonald’s denied last week that Dignard was asked to leave, saying he had departed voluntarily after he was told about customer complaints regarding his “behaviour and the well-being of his service dog.”
“It’s really disheartening to hear the message is falling on deaf ears,” said Alison Ainsworth, the Alberta woman who lobbied the province to make it illegal for businesses to deny service to disabled people with service dogs. “I think the Alberta government came up with the Alberta Service Dogs Act but passing such a legislation in absence of credible, meaningful information being communicated isn’t going far enough.”
Ainsworth says the government needs to do more to get businesses to comply.
Posted by jwoestendiek June 20th, 2012 under Muttsblog.
Tags: alberta, angus, animals, brain, canada, denied, disabilities, disabled, dog, Eve, injuries, mcdonald's, pets, restaurants, saint bernard, service, service dog, st. bernard, Wetaskiwin
Comments
Comment from vida
Time June 20, 2012 at 6:27 pm
How can people be so callous to people with service animals? It boggles my mind.
Comment from KateH
Time June 20, 2012 at 3:22 pm
Even though that McD’s is likely owned by a franchisee, it is still up to McDonald’s corporate offices to make sure all the people representing them are 1) treating customers well, and 2) following all applicable laws, including ones the franchisee might not like. Yes, the Alberta government might need to educate the people working there, but mcD’s corporate needs to tell the franchisee to shape up or they should dump him asap.