24 January 2023 , 18:09
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A disabled woman is claiming she was kicked out of a Wetherspoon's pub while dining with five friends, after being told her assistance dog was not welcome.
Louise Harris, a Newcastle-under-Lyme local who lives with multiple sclerosis and suffers with a lack of mobility, was enjoying a meal at The Reginald Mitchell in Hanley, in Stoke-on-Trent when the "upsetting" incident took place.
The 40-year-old had her pooch Bella by her side at the restaurant on Monday, January 16 as she tucked into the ‘food and unlimited tea’ offer, when the manager approached her.
Bella, a sandy-coloured cockapoo, helps Louise with everyday tasks such as getting dressed and opening doors.
But Louise said the manager told her no dogs were allowed and would not budge - despite her providing proof of Bella's credentials as an assistance dog.
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Louise told StokeonTrentLive the incident left her in tears and scared to leave the house again.
The incident happened at the Reginald Mitchell pub, in Hanley (Getty Images)She said: “The manager came up to me and he said ‘your dog isn’t allowed in here, I’d like you to leave, your dog isn’t an assistance dog’.
“I showed him my paperwork. I had my hidden disability lanyard on, you can’t see I've got one when I’m sitting down, so it’s got my ID and a photograph which says what disabilities I've got.
“Assistance dogs have to have their registered paperwork which I had on me. They have to have their coats on to prove she’s an assistance dog and not any old dog, so it’s visible."
But Louise says the manager wasn’t interested in her paperwork.
While she "kept it calm" during her interaction with the manager, Louise said she "came out and cried".
"I was so upset and hurt. I felt like a second-class citizen," she said.
Louise said Bella was there to help with her disabilities, which meant she also needed crutches and a wheelchair. The dog could undo her shoe laces, take her socks off and was going to learn to open doors and press buttons.
“I went to the bus station, I waited until I stopped crying," Louise continued.
"I didn't want anybody else to know what was going on. I try to fit in as best as I can, I am disabled but I try to be as able as I can."
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She said the experience had made her feel like she didn't want to leave the house and as though she was being discriminated against.
"You lose the confidence to go out. It’s shocking they make people feel like this," she added.
Wetherspoon introduced the ban on dogs on September 10, 2018 but does allow assistance dogs.
Spokesman Eddie Gershon said: “Wetherspoon operates a ‘No-dog’ policy in all of its pubs with the exception of assistance dogs. We are dealing directly with Ms Harris to understand and address her concerns.”