A blind TikTok user went viral for claiming he and his guide dog were allegedly kicked out of a restaurant because he “doesn’t look blind.”
Even though there aren’t many laws around bringing service dogs to places, establishment owners have the right to ask only two questions concerning the dog accompanying the person, and choosing not to answer them can result in a fine. But that’s not what happened with the blind TikToker and his pet Labrador, also a guide dog.
Blind man and his guide dog stopped from entering the restaurant
The TikTok user in question is Paul Castle, who allegedly lost over 90% of his vision to an untreatable eye disease called Retinitis Pigmentosa.
He and his husband Matthew are popular on TikTok for documenting their lives. Paul uses his own life to inspire others who are visually impaired. Despite having a “pinhole of vision”, it’s hard for him to convince people he’s truly blind as he “doesn’t look” like a blind person.
In one of his videos with over 15 million views, he claims that he and his service dog Mr. Maples were subject to one such incident at an unnamed restaurant in Seattle.
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He said somebody at the restaurant stopped him and Mr. Maples when they were about to enter the place because of their “no pets” policy. Paul claims Mr. Maples had his harness on, which stated he is a “guide dog”, yet the restaurant employee wouldn’t believe them.
Paul claims the man at the restaurant told him “he doesn’t look blind,”, prompting him to explain that a lot of people in the blind community have functional vision, meaning, they can perform daily functions with lessened vision and heightened senses.
They were allegedly ‘kicked out’
When Paul tried convincing the man that he was truly blind, the latter didn’t buy it and allegedly said: “This isn’t my first rodeo.”
He also wasn’t willing to see Mr. Maples’s paperwork when Paul offered and told them to “never set foot in the restaurant.”
Paul refrained from naming the restaurant, but in a news story featuring the incident, it was revealed that the restaurant manager personally apologized to Paul and said he would ensure the employees were better educated about customers with different conditions.
Meanwhile, Paul thinks the issue stems from the fact that some people falsely claim that their pets are service dogs, which impacts others genuinely dependent on them.
He also thinks little awareness about the blind community – some blind people can still have little vision – is another reason contributing to discrimination against them.
According to a government website, people working at a business or state/local government facility are allowed to ask below two questions if they aren’t sure that a pet is a service dog.
- Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
- What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?
They can’t request any documents to show if the dog is registered, licensed, or certified as a service animal. Nor does it require that the dog demonstrate its task, or inquire about the nature of the person’s disability.
Service dogs are allowed to go to places that are accessible to the public and it’s true even when they have a “no pets” policy, states ADA.
