If you walked into a McDonald’s a saw a dog waiting in line, you’d probably make the same assumption all of us would: that after years of watching their human owners eat tasty burgers while they eat literal dog food, they had enough and decided to get a little taste of the McGoodness.
Unfortunately, dogs are usually turned away from restaurants, as most of them have a strict no-pet policy.
What many establishments don’t know, however, is that some dogs are actually allowed in their premises.
But not just any dog, of course. Guide dogs.
McDonald’s S’pore Turned Away Guide Dog Owner But Has Since Made Amends
A staff member at McDonald’s recently turned away a woman with a guide dog, telling them they couldn’t enter the outlet.
Guide Dogs Singapore, a non-profit voluntary welfare organisation, said in a Facebook post on Saturday (15 Aug) that incidents like this are unfortunately more common than we think, due to a lack of awareness.
They said that one of their clients, Sophie, was turned away from a McDonald’s outlet, but added that the Management has since apologized to Sophie for the incident.
Not just that, they also offered her a free meal at their premises, which she enjoyed with the company of her dog.
“Guide Dogs Singapore Ltd would like to thank McDonald’s for their prompt response. We are working with them to ensure information on guide dogs is included in staff training to avoid similar incidents in the future,” they said in their post.
Second Incident In the Past Week
Just a few days ago, an aggrieved customer, who could possibly be the same lady who was turned away in McDonald’s as well, took to Facebook to vent her frustrations about being denied entry at a Subway outlet because she had a guide dog.
The woman said that the employee who turned her away allegedly refused to talk to her, and even yelled at her for trying to converse with him.
Fortunately, Subway reached out to the customer soon after the incident and “expressed their deepest apologies” for how she was treated.
They added that they will take action against the employee who mistreated her.
She’ll also get a free meal, which never hurts.
Guide Dogs Allowed in Restaurants, On Trains & Buses
For the uninitiated, a guide dog is an assistance dog trained to lead blind and visually impaired people around obstacles.
In several countries, guide dogs, along with most service and hearing dogs, are exempt from regulations against the presence of animals in places such as restaurants and public transportation.
And, fortunately, Singapore is one of those countries.
The Subway employee who turned the customer with the guide dog away claimed that Subway is a Halal restaurant and that guide dogs are not supported by the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (MUIS), but this isn’t true.
As stated in one of its advisories, MUIS says customers with guide dogs are permitted to enter halal restaurants.
They added, however, that “much work remains to be done to convince owners of eating establishments to be sympathetic and compassionate towards blind persons with Guide Dogs and accept them with open arms as equal to their other patrons.”
Sadly, this ignorance isn’t just limited to eateries.
Last year, a lady with a guide dog was shouted at by a fellow commuter for boarding a public bus with her guide dog.
While SBS Transit does not allow animals on their buses and trains due to hygiene and religious reasons, it does make an exception for guide dogs for the visually impaired.
Hopefully, with Guide Dogs Singapore working to raise awareness, such incidents won’t occur in the future.
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