This story has been updated with additional information
A shopping trip in Surrey turned into a traumatic experience for Bridget Warner and her father, Simon, when staff at two different Walmart stores denied them entry.
Bridget, who is blind, had her guide dog, Dottie, along for the early-evening trip Saturday, May 10, after being paired with the beloved Black Lab just three months ago.
"For me it means greater independence and less nerves because she's trained to do a lot of things," the teen said of Dottie. "She's trained to find doors, certain objects, and she's also trained to keep me safe on the street. She's very well behaved, and doesn't bark or make any noise while in her harness."
After the father, daughter and dog parked at the Walmart store on 88 Avenue, they were stopped at the door by a greeter who told them they couldn't enter with Dottie.
"They asked to see some identification, certification," Simon Robinson recalled. "I said it's a certified guide dog that had the proper guide dog harness, one with a Seeing Eye logo, and it doesn't take a genius to identify Bridget as a blind person."
Bridget was livid.
"I found myself physically shaking and my heart rate went really high, really anxious and livid at the same time," she said.
"A service dog is classified as medical equipment, and you don't have to show papers for your wheelchair or your walker, do you?"
Turned away, the pair drove to another Walmart store in Guildford to get what they needed, and were denied entry there, too.
"The greeter said no dogs are allowed in the store — the same song and dance," Simon said. "I asked to speak to the manager, just like I did at the first store, and that took longer than five minutes. I said, you know, we're just gonna go and buy what we need to get out of here. So we just walked through the entrance and got our Swiffer and then left the store. Nobody chased us, nobody said anything after that point, so I don't know what happened to the manager."
Grant Coad, Walmart Canada's chief ethics and compliance officer, has apologized to the family in a May 12 email, writing, 'We welcome all customers at our stores and your daughter's service animal is certainly welcome too."
On Friday (May 16), the retail company's corporate affairs office responded to a Now-Leader request for clarification about its policy regarding service dogs and the need to show such certification in stores. That question wasn't directly answered, but the statement says "Walmart Canada takes matters of this nature very seriously and we’re looking into the customer’s experience.
"Respect is a core value at Walmart Canada and we are committed to providing an accessible and dignified shopping experience for all our customers," the statement adds. "We welcome service animals at all Walmart Canada stores. We recognize the important role they play in many of our customers’ lives and regularly serve customers that rely on them. We also train our associates on accessible customer service."
For the father and daughter turned away, their experience was "just not acceptable," Simon fumed.
He said Bridget and her mother, Rebecca, have gone shopping with Dottie many times, without incident.
"We've been in many other stores and restaurants and never had an issue," Simon noted. "Being asked to stand off to the side of the door like that, it felt really awkward, like we were common criminals standing there with everyone walking past us, looking at us, you know. And Bridget was mortified."
Bridget had to endure another "near-denial" recently, when she and a friend ordered an Uber to a house.
"The (driver) was like, 'We don't want dogs in the car,'" she recalled. "It shows on my account that I have a service dog, and he said that I have to wipe the fur, so we got in and I tipped only a dollar because he was rude. Dottie was just chilling on the floor."
Bridget, who turns 19 this week and is set to graduate from Frank Hurt Secondary this spring, said she won't stop shopping at Walmart stores.
"It is a favourite store of mine, and in fact tomorrow after school I'm meeting my grandparents at Surrey Central at Walmart," she explained. "And so, despite what happened, I'm going there again. I'm like, if an employee tries to confront me, I'm gonna do the Rosa Parks move where I'm gonna ask Dottie to speed up and I'm just gonna run away. They're not doing right so I'm not doing right, know what I'm saying?"
