’Gay’ Seeing Eye Dog Denied Entry to Restaurant

[Ian David]

A judge has ruled against a restaurant in Australia that refused entry to a service dog because the staff thought it was gay.

In May of 2009, Ian Jolly was not allowed to take his seeing-eye dog Nudge into Thai Spice restaurant, in Adelaide. Jolly was accompanied by a woman who had asked whether they might be allowed to bring the guide dog onto the premises with them, and the waiter, thinking she had said "gay dog," refused, an April 25 story at Inquirer.com reported. This led to a complaint with a human rights tribunal.

"The staff genuinely believed that Nudge was an ordinary pet dog which had been desexed to become a gay dog," according to a statement from the owners of Thai Spice. The tribunal ruled against the Thai Spice, finding that Jolly had been discriminated against on the basis of disability, and ordered the eatery to pay Jolly $1,400 and to apologize for denying his service dog entrance.

The article said that the restaurant, which is located in Grange, a town near Adelaide, has a sign telling patrons that guide dogs are allowed. Two reviewers have posted comments online indicating satisfaction with the establishment’s cuisine and prices.

Comments posted at conservative chat site FreeRepublic.com, where gay news is often posted for the delectation of the site’s users, speculated that the word "guide" might have sound like "gay" to someone unfamiliar with the Australian accent. The postings also included stills from the program South Park, which featured a gay dog in one episode. A Photoshopped image of a poodle with rainbow coloring was also posted at the site, which sported the slogan :"Imagine: No Liberals," and a yellow smiley face.

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