[nagdu] Woman says cab driver refused her a ride because of seeing-eye dog

[Rusty Perez]

Hi folks,
about 13 years ago when I was in Dallas for a convention, I called a
cab late one night to drive me to my hotel. I waited for a long time
and finally discovered that the cab had come  and driven off   when he
realized I had a dog with me. The second cab which came a while later,
explained to me that some folks have a religeous objection to having
dogs in their cabs.
I was pretty upset, but did nothing about it.
Rusty

Rusty


On 8/6/13, Ginger Kutsch <GingerKutsch at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Woman says cab driver refused her a ride because of seeing-eye dog
>
> By Bob Heye KATU News and KATU.com StaffPublished: Aug 2, 2013
>
> http://www.katu.com/news/local/Woman-says-cab-driver-refused-her-a-ride-beca
> use-of-seeing-eye-dog-218052101.html
>
>
>
> PORTLAND, Ore. - A woman who is blind says a Broadway Cab driver refused
> her
> service because she had a seeing-eye dog with her.
>
> It all unfolded at Union Station, and an Amtrak worker confirmed what
> happened to Deb Marinos.
>
> Marinos had gotten off the train and was trying to get to OHSU for a
> scheduled checkup but a Broadway Cab driver, and then a second cab driver
> both refused to give her a ride.
>
> "I have a little tiny bit of vision," she said. "I'm what's called legally
> blind, but I have no peripheral vision. So the dog provides me the ability
> to cross streets and find curbs and doors."
>
> Marinos rides Amtrak all the time - commuting to work in Salem and Portland
> and also traveling the country to conferences and legislative assemblies in
> her job as a vocational rehabilitation counselor for the Oregon Council of
> the Blind.
>
> She was stunned when she went to get into a Broadway Cab and the driver
> refused to let her in.
>
> "And he says, 'No, she has a dog. I'm not takin' her. No dogs. Dogs aren't
> allowed by the company.'"
>
> A second Broadway driver said he'd take her, but he already had a fare. The
> next cab back was a Sassy Cab, a subsidiary of Broadway Cab.
>
> "The cab behind him, Sassy Cab, says 'No, I don't do dogs either,'" Marinos
> said. "And then the fourth cab got out to see what all the fun was about
> and
> they said, 'OK, we'll take you.'"
>
> An Amtrak helper known as Red Cap argued with the cab drivers' refusals.
>
> "Amtrak is so incredibly good at taking care of us, and the Red Cap today
> was just absolutely. He was just like all over them and could not believe
> it
> - that they'd never had that before where they've had someone turned down,"
> Marinos said.
>
> And if you think allergies to dogs is behind all this, Marinos said that's
> not a factor. She's allergic to dogs. Her service dog breed is
> hypoallergenic.
>
> KATU didn't get a response from Broadway Cab Thursday night. City
> regulations say "No driver shall ... refuse to transport to his requested
> destination any passenger of proper demeanor who is able to demonstrate the
> ability to pay the fare."
>
> Marinos met both of those requirements.
>
> A city spokesperson said the city is starting a formal investigation into
> the incident and that Broadway Cab is cooperating with investigators.
>
>
>
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