REGINA – John Bishop’s black lab tally is not just his best friend.
“She’s a service dog. She helps pick up stuff, I don’t know, opens automatic doors”, Bishop said.
Bishop is legally blind, and requires his seeing eye dog Tally with him at all times.
Last Saturday, Bishop was eating at a Western Pizza when he tried to get a cab home but was refused because of his dog.
“I was upset, I don’t know, I was mad”
He tried again, with another cab company and was refused service again.
“I know one guy said, not with a service dog I guess. I think to myself, that’s being discriminatory”.
Eyewitnesses who saw the event unfold waited with Bishop until he could find a safe ride home.
After an hour, the pair eventually convinced Bishop to let them drive him home.
“It was heartbreaking to see a grown man with a condition be down because he can’t get a cab and get a safe ride home,” Matthew Vandeben explained.
“I think to myself, it’s pretty sad that’s how the company had reacted”, Bishop said.
The Canadian National Institute for the Blind said what happened to Bishop was a violation of human rights.
“Someone who has a vision impairment, their guide dog is similar to them using a white cane to help them navigate”.
“An individual with a trained service dog or a guide dog, is entitled to any public place”, CNIB provincial director Christall Beaudry explained.
Both Capital Cabs and Regina Cabs declined to comment on camera, but on the phone they said the incident was unfortunate and should never have happened.
Both companies said the drivers that refused service have lost their jobs.