Gay Dogs Not Allowed In Thai Restaurant

4 May 2010: In May last year, a vision impaired man was denied entry into a Thai restaurant in South Australia because the staff thought he was trying to enter with a ‘gay' dog.

When Ms Lawrence went in to ask restaurant staff if her partner Ian Jolly, could bring his guide dog in, they claim that they mistook what she said as his ‘gay' dog, admitting that they thought the dog had been de-sexed to make it gay....... What the?!!

Even though the restaurant, ‘Thai Spice' in Grange, South Australia has a ‘guide dogs welcome' sign out the front, they refused the man and his ‘gay' dog entry into the restaurant, believing the Labrador named Nudge, was simply a pet dog that had been made gay.

When the couple showed the staff a guide dogs fact card, they still refused to let them in. The couple took the matter to the Equal Opportunity Tribunal claiming discrimination on the grounds of disability discrimination.

Almost a year later, Mr Jolly's case was successful and he received a written apology from the restaurant and the staff were ordered to attend an Equal Opportunity education course. Mr Jolly also received $1500 in compensation.

The restaurant didn't wish to make any comments over the embarrassing incident. Mr Jolly told Adelaide's newspaper, the Sunday Mail, that he was happy with the outcome but also stated, “I just want to be like everybody else and be able to go out for dinner, to be left alone and just enjoy a meal.”

This is truly a ridiculous incident! How can a dog be ‘made' gay? And should the restaurant also be pulled up for homophobia?

To me, this just seems like another case of ignorance and the general public not realizing how helpful a guide dog can be to a blind person. Personally, I think there should be more education and awareness for the general public, giving the facts about guide dogs and the benefits blind people receive from them, especially to foreign people who come to live in this country and may have different beliefs and have come from different laws.

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