Disabled woman with assistance dog left “humiliated” after getting boot from Portsmouth Wetherspoon’s pub
A disabled woman was left “humiliated” and “disgusted” when she was booted out of a Wetherspoon’s pub after her assistance dog card to allow her pooch in the venue was rejected.
Val Gratton, 63, was left stunned and “made to feel small” when she was shown the door with her dog Pixie at The Sir John Baker on London Road, North End, on Tuesday in front of a packed pub.
Val claims she suffered “discrimination” after her official assistance dog card, issued by the Assistance Dog Registry, was repeatedly dismissed. As a diabetic, Val has an assistance dog which alerts her if there is something wrong with her blood sugar levels.
Adding to her humiliation, the Buckland local said she was effectively accused of “falsifying” the document when she was told by an area manager who happened to be in the pub: “You could have bought that on the internet for a fiver.”
The card was previously accepted by a manager in the pub but was then rejected by the area manager - leaving Val further perplexed. She told The News: “(The area manager) said it was not a real (assistance dog card). I said, ‘I beg your pardon?’ He said I could have ‘got it off the internet for a fiver’.
“I said my dog was registered and it even says about the Equality Act on it. I said I use it in every other place and assured him it did not just cost me a fiver…it cost a lot more than that.
“He said the card should be yellow and I should have a certificate to show that Pixie was specially trained. I explained it was a proper ID but he said, ‘I’m afraid you’ve got to leave.’ He then thanked me for my understanding and I told him, ‘I don’t understand, it is discrimination. The card is accepted all over.’
“There was no point arguing the toss so I got up and left after finishing my coffee. I was made to feel so small. My friends couldn’t believe it. Everybody was looking at me. The pub was packed.”
Val explained that Pixie just “curls up at my feet and does not say boo to a goose” but is vital in alerting her over blood sugar levels. “If something is wrong with my sugars she lets me know so I can get tested or have a sugary drink or something to counteract it,” she said.
Val added: “What happened goes against the Equality Act and disability laws…it’s disgusting. I can go to other places with Pixie and my card and not be questioned. Not all assistance dogs are trained by an official body, a lot of training is done at home. My dog can tell by licking me if I need a boost.
“The whole point of an assistance dog is they are meant to be with you all the time. I was more or less accused of falsifying the registration card.”
Wetherspoon spokesman Eddie Gershon said: “We are currently investigating the matter.”