Saturday 1 May 2010

It's the way you say it!

When 57-year-old Ian Jolly went to Thai Spice last May with his girlfriend and guide dog Nudge, he was only trying to get a hot meal. Since the Australian restaurant had a sign on the front door saying “guide dogs welcome“, Jolly thought he’d have no problem getting a table. He never anticipated what happened next - waiters confusing his guide dog as a gay dog.
Believing he de-sexed his Nudge to turn him into a gay dog, waiters at Thai Spice refused Ian Jolly and his girlfriend service. Even after showing them his dog guide fact card, they still wouldn’t let him in. Sound strange?
This incident was odd, so Ian Jolly exercised his civil rights. He sued the restaurant and won $1,500. His main purpose for following through with the suit was to guarantee proper service for other blind people, especially from restaurants advertising the acceptance of guide dogs.

6 comments:

Mr Eurodog said...

This reminds me of a slim volume, popular in my youth, called "Lesstork Strine" by Emma Chissit.

The meanderings of a history hound said...

I am very glad Ian sued. Many service & guide dog partners will just leave instead of fight back.

Fortunately, I've run into few problems with my service dog, despite the fact that she is not one of the breeds that are typically used as service dogs.

Unknown said...

I'm glad he pursued the issue and won!

Mr Eurodog said...

The author of the guide to Australian pronunciation was in fact Efferbeck Lorder. Sorry for this memory lapse.

Eurodog said...

Thank you all for commenting.
Meanderings, welcome to my blog. I tried to leave a comment on yours but failed.

Whispering Walls said...

At least it wasn't a Korean restaurant - could have been rather a different outcome!