Chicago Restaurant refused entry to a Veteran because of his Service Dog

The statement – ” A Dog is A Man’s Best Friend” isn’t something that came about on a whim. Dogs are loyal, friendly, smart and literally the cutest thing ever. Apart from being great pets/friends, these qualities of a dog help people in more ways than imaginable. 

For Major Diggs Brown, his 2-year old dog Arthur was helping him ease the trauma and stress caused by serving in Afghanistan. The Veteran suffers from Post-traumatic stress disorder also known as PTSD and it is quite common for vets to get dogs to help them during this difficult time. 

“He does a lot of things. He wakes me up from nightmares when I have them. When I have anxiety attacks, he calms me down. He saved my life and I’m even off the drugs,” Brown told CBS Chicago.

So it was of great pain to Major Brown when he was denied service in a restaurant in Chicago because he brought his service dog with him. The restaurant Cochon Volant, said he could not bring the service dog into the restaurant because dogs were not allowed.

“I kept my cool and I said you know it’s the American Disabilities Act. This is my service dog, he can go wherever I go, it’s the law,” Brown told CBS Chicago. “She said, ‘I don’t care, you need to leave, we don’t have dogs in the restaurant.’ I could go to the Department of Justice with this if we continue down this path.”

Brown left the restaurant feeling humiliated and wrote on his Facebook page about his experience and the restaurant posted an apology on their Facebook page, saying, “The Cochon Volant family is both saddened and disappointed to hear this account of a veteran’s experience today. Not only are we 100% aware of and in compliance with all ADA regulations regarding service dogs, we also have an acute appreciation for the service of veterans and we are happy to welcome staff members and employees who have honorably served this country.”