the Bernera cafe/dog/legal aid saga - wtf?

[AuntieBiotics]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ced71ny99y5o

American woman living in Bernera is suing the local community run cafe because it would not admit her "emotional support" dog. She is being supported by the Ethnic Minorities Law Centre because Americans are ethnic minorities, and is being funded by Legal Aid. She wants £10k, which would shut them down.

I mean. What the actual fuck. Move to a tiny island with 250 people on it, claim you're being ostracised and harrassed and try to solve that by suing a charity? That'll sort it. And LEGAL FUCKING AID???

Swinney was not aware of the particular case

Finger on the pulse there, John.

Indeed!

Thank you Sylvan

Is it just me or do the dogs in the top photo look very different to the dogs in the bottom photos?

On Reddit, someone said that it was the café owner's cat that the dog/s killed. I haven't seen that anywhere else but would make even more sense why they didn't want the dog in the café.

That interview is...interesting!

I particularly like the bit about her dog - "She is synergistically aligned with me". I mean, that's a lot to put on a dog

So it seems that it's a support dog for her mental health - is that recognised in the UK to the extent that it comes under the heading of disability discrimination not to be allowed into a cafe with your synergetic dog?

Apparently it was the cafe cat it killed - no wonder they banned it.

I didn’t think you could just claim that your dog is a support dog in the UK - I thought it had to be specifically trained, like a guide dog. Am I wrong? Are there different rules in Scotland?

Surely a place can’t be accused of disability discrimination if it allows dogs that are trained and registered with a recognised disability organisation? Not just any dog which a person has “trained” themselves for an unknown medical condition?

I think that will ultimately be what any litigation tests.

This case really pissed me off. I went through a traumatic time in court to protect my child. My exh could afford a barrister. I had to self rep. No legal aid. I couldn't prove the domestic abuse to get help.

This horrible woman can get funding by taxpayers for this. A system she's paid fuck all into by the looks of things. An absolute narcissist.

Kills their cat and then sues them. Bloody hell. New meaning to the word entitled.

Where Reform ranting about deporting immigrants when you need them! Tongue in cheek obviously but this is someone I'd approve of booting out.

I think it was a cat in Stornoway it attacked, not the cafes. It’s not a well trained dog at all.

https://news.sky.com/story/daughter-of-hollywood-star-sues-outer-hebrides-island-cafe-for-refusing-her-dog-entry-13580486

Sky News have picked it up now and interviewed her 👀

The rules are that the dog has to be trained in a task/tasks that aid the disabled person. Mental health would not really count. Potentially a dog who is trained to recognise meltdowns/breakdowns and do something that prevents them might (in the same way as a dog might detect an epileptic fit so the person can ask for help/put themselves in a safe place.

but general emotional support doesn’t count.

”Would you be happy to see this place closed? It’s none of my business”.

How can you be that —barking— divorced from reality?

That’s great but there is lack of a licensing system. As I said pages ago, my (former) friend just got an Assistance Dog vest off Amazon or similar and took it everywhere to save neighbours and council issue as the dog was a right shit. She just threatened people with discrimination if anyone challenged it. There was no official licensing system for them and that works to the advantage of such CF’ers. It’s sad as it ruins it for the very few valid cases, I now view any such dog with extreme skepticism.

Have donated 20 pounds

Did you see what their total is now? It was around £20k when I donated.

I said that as an assistance dog owner myself I would try to reserve judgement but I admit its becoming increasingly hard not to judge. I've just seen her Herald comments - doesn't this woman realise such comments could be screen shotted and used against her? That's if the court can actually understand her writing.

If she's behaving like this and her dog is indeed attacking other animals (haven't seen evidence of this though), then she's making it harder for registered assistance dogs to get access. We'll just get told we are 'faking it' or whatever.

The buying coats off the internet situation is getting so bad, that even guide dog owners, who you think would be the most recognised assistance dog, get refused entry now.

Obviously we don't know the full cat story, but there seems to be agreement that there was some kind of altercation. Surely a dog that is reactive to cats is unsuitable as an assistance dog? (Which I assumed in the UK were dogs trained to do specific tasks who have to retire when they are too old to do the job).

I used to work in a supermarket and we couldn't challenge anyone coming in with a dog if they said it was an assistance dog. We weren't allowed to say ask what it assisted with, or why they had it, because of discrimination. We had to take the owner's word for it. To be honest, all the dogs who did come in were well behaved but it can't have been nice for other customers.

If she needed a 'synergistically aligned' dog, then I would have suggested something of a more suitable size, like a spaniel. If those wolfhounds decide to take off there's not a lot she can do about it.

This is the issue that entitled people are banking on. They know that a member of staff probably on minimum wage in a cafe or shop is not going to challenge them and risk a torrent of abuse and confrontation or accusations of discrimination which could lose them their job. It's much easier to turn a blind eye and the entitled people know that.

There definitely needs to be tighter regulation and defintion of what is an assistance dog. This does not mean the person has to reveal their medical history or diagnosis to all and sundry but would mean restricting the sale of jackets or issuing of licences to those who qualify. It's about finding the balance of not making things too difficult/exepensive for those with a genuine need, but making things awkward/tricky for the entitled cheeky fuckers.

I think there is a difference here because the residents of an Island of only 250 are in a position to see whether the dog really is an assistance dog as we would understand it in the UK.

However I don't know whether that makes any difference to the cafe's legal position.

I agree, but this is a very rural area where everyone knows everyone (out of season) and we were aware that many customers were - how shall I put it? - somewhat massaging the truth when they called their dog an assistance dog. But because we couldn't challenge them, the dogs came in.

The place you donate doesn’t show the running total. Just input your card details and amount. That’s it.

Someone said upthread that they're over £50k now. I just wish they could use that money for the community and not have to spend it on this ridiculous nonsense caused by one woman's tantrum.