Woman claims restaurant refused service because of service dog

A woman claims an El Paso restaurant violated the Americans with Disabilities Act when they refused to serve her because she had her service dog.

“They were like no we don’t want to serve you and I’m like why? Because you have your dog with you. I know he’s a dog, but he’s also a medical device. I don’t care what he is. He’s a service animal. I don’t care what he is, we’re not serving you,” Patricia McKinley said.

McKinley says in June, The Clock Restaurant in Northeast El Paso refused to serve her because of her service dog Sugarpop. Mckinley says the dog goes everywhere with her, standing by to detect and alert her when her sugar levels are low.

In a video recorded by Mckinnley’s sister, El Paso Police and Animal Control officers are seen telling the woman the restaurant has the right to refuse service.

“The same thing for grocery stores. The grocery manage is in charge of the store. When you walk in with your pet, it’s his discretion it’s not a pet, it’s a medical device. Pet medical device, it’s a pet,” an unidentified officer said.

Americans with Disabilities Act specifies service dogs are allowed anywhere their owners are.
In addition, staff may ask only two specific questions: (1) is the dog a service animal required because of a disability? And (2) what work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

A business can only request a service dog be removed if the animal is out of control and the handler does not take action to control it.

“The owner of The Clock Restaurant, Fernando Hernandez, didn’t want to speak on camera but did speak with ABC-7 over the phone. He said it wasn’t the first time he’s had issues with McKinnley and didn’t want to serve her. As for her service dog, he says the dog was not disorderly, was not barking and was by McKinnley’s side the entire time. He told ABC-7 he did not want the dog inside.

“When someone comes in with a dog, and it’s a service animal, they must allow that service animal in their facility, regardless as to where they’re going to,” Julio Perez, ADA Coordinator for the City of El Paso said.

Perez said there are very few places that can restrict access to a service dogs.

“There’s a lot of confusion out there but mostly on the part of businesses I don’t think a lot of people take their time to really understand what the law is and to become knowledgeable on what their responsibilities are,” Perez said.

Perez says ADA laws are not enforced by city entities, which is why it’s hard to enforce the laws. He says at the end of the day it’s up to businesses to know the law.

“A service animal is part of the person with the disability. It’s part of their life. It helps them to carry out their daily activity,” Perez said.

The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division has the authority to enforce ADA laws. McKinnley filed a report but was told they would not take further action because they receive thousands of complaints and do not have all the resources to solve them.

McKinnley also filed a report with the police department’s internal affairs department, which was handled administratively.

Animal control officers cited the woman because she did not have the appropriate vaccination and registration tags on the dog at the time, which were later dismissed.

An official with Animal Codes says this was the first time they were made aware of the incident and are investigating the matter.