In the paper again!

Just a quick note to say that we've made it into another newspaper. Not exactly how I'd have liked this time though! I submitted a comment to The Stroller of the Spartanburg Herald Journal this week about an experience we had at a local restaurant. The paper opted not to mention the restaurants name so I won't either as I agree with the gentlemen who writes the Stroller that this situation could apply at any restaurant anywhere. What happened was this...We went into the place and told them we had 5 people and a service dog and would need a table with a little extra space to accommodate the dog underneath. They graciously pulled two tables together and we were seated. Our waitress stops off at the table next to us, who apparently had also just been seated before us, to introduce herself and get them started. She immediately comes to us and quietly says, "Hi, I'm sorry but do you all have a dog with you?" We answer yes and she says I'm going to have to ask you to take it outside as the people next to you are really upset about it. I proceed to tell her it's a service dog and he's protected by federal law and she says, " Oh, I'm sorry, never mind, I'll handle it." I watch her go over to the couple and quietly and very politely tell them that we have a service dog with us and that we are protected by law and it would be illegal for them to ask us to leave or remove the dog. I hear her say to the lady, " I understand how you feel, but they have the right to have it with them." She says, I'll talk with my manager and see what I can do. She comes to us to get our drinks and we ask, is everything OK? She says oh yes, don't worry about it. I'm going to ask my manager if I can just move them. We even offered to be the ones to move even though we DON'T have to and the waitress said absolutely not, I'll handle it and if they are bothered by it, they can move. So a few minutes later a couple different waitresses come over and offer to move the couple, they refuse and then the regular waitress comes and offers again and they still refuse. So we all proceed to enjoy our meal and nothing more is said. Once the couple finally gets up to leave, the waitress comes back to us and says, I'm so glad they finally left, they were getting on my nerves! We all laugh and then begin asking the waitress more about what exactly was said. She said the lady told her she was "completely appalled" at the fact that anyone would bring a dog into a restaurant, regardless of what kind of dog it is. The waitress told us that she's worked in many restaurants and she knows the law and she knows that we have every right to have the dog there as long as it is a service dog. She even tells us that she knows that even if it's a service dog in training that they can't deny it. (Which is state law, but most of your general public doesn't realize that.) I was very impressed with how the wait staff handled everything and thanked them all for it. I wanted our experience to be heard so that hopefully more people would realize that we are not just taking a dog into a restaurant but taking a piece of medical equipment needed to mitigate my child's disability. They wouldn't have objected to him being in a wheelchair, they shouldn't object to him having his service dog!!

So to read my comment, simply pick up a Herald Journal while you are out today and turn to the Stroller section. Or go to this link http://www.goupstate.com/article/20091113/COLUMNISTS/911139980/1130?Title=-Appalled

They paraphrased what I said and they also left out the restaurant name but I think they helped get my point across.

Just a side note, I said I wouldn't tell what the restaurant was but I will say it was an Italian/Greek restaurant in Boiling Springs located in the Rocky Branch plaza!!