Owner of Kitchener, Ont., restaurant speaks out about service dog incident

KITCHENER -

The owner of Milton’s Restaurant in Kitchener is speaking out about a video showing a man with a service dog being forcibly removed from the premises on Wednesday.

Dionisios Gianopoulos spoke with CTV Kitchener Friday, and says the video doesn’t tell the whole story.

“Of course we want everybody to come here, we’re a business,” he said. “We had nothing to do with the dog. We said the dog has to have a permit. You don’t show [it], dog not allowed.”

“We have so many customers that come in here with dogs, eye dogs, or anything,” said Gianopoulis. “They show their permit the first time they come in here, and the next time we don’t ask them again. But the first time everybody has to show [them].”

CTV News spoke with Justin Leckie, the man with the service dog in the video, on Thursday.

He said he was seated when two men approached him, demanding to see his service dog’s certification.

Leckie, who lives with Asperger’s, said the dog is a comfort to him.

“I don’t just show my papers to anybody,” he explained. “She helps me with general anxiety, panic attack, depression, that type of thing.”

Leckie said he was holding the dog’s papers when he was asked to leave the restaurant.

“I resisted because I said ‘No, I haven’t done anything wrong,’” he says. “They weren’t having any of it. They said if you don’t get up right now we’re dragging you out right now. And they did.”

CTV News reached out to the Waterloo Regional Police Service Friday; a spokesperson said their investigation is ongoing and they still want to talk to any witnesses.

Premier Doug Ford was also asked to weigh in on the video Friday.

“It’s a real unfortunate situation,” says Ford. “You know, if you have a service dog, it’s legal to bring a service dog into a restaurant. So it’s unfortunate, and that’s for any owner, be respectful of service dogs and the people that bring them into your restaurants.”

RULES FOR SERVICE DOGS

The incident has raised a number of questions about rules surrounding service dogs.

The dog in the video is named is Epinonine and she goes everywhere with Leckie.

“We just call her Epi for short,” he says.

The man who trained Epi spoke to CTV News Kitchener on Friday.

“It was extremely, extremely distressing watching the dog go through this, and Justin to go through that,” said Doug Chivas, the owner of Working Paws.

He certified Epi as a service dog in April of 2018 after she underwent between 400 and 700 hours of training alongside Leckie.

“Epi basically applies deep pressure if he get anxious, that type of thing.”

Chivas said in the video Epi looked confused, but remained calm.

“There wasn’t any aggression on Epi’s part. She’s trained not to be aggressive and that’s part my assessment.”

According to the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, any service animal must be allowed to stay with their owner while they receive services in taxis, grocery stores and restaurants.

“Service dogs allow for individuals on the spectrum to experience what we all experience with that support,” said Kelly Wilson, the development coordinator for Autism Ontario.

She wants those in the service industry to familiarize themselves with the Disability Act.

“I believe that it takes not just our organization but an entire sense of community to stand up and say what isn’t right.”