Get that F**king Fake Service Dog Out
Disabled war veteran kicked out of Massachusetts diner for bringing in his service dog Jack
Pictured above; James Glaser, Jack, and Henry Marc (Sgt Mac's Bar Special Corespondent and Combat Controller who happens to live in Oxford)
Air Force veteran James Glaser has a service dog named Jack to help him cope with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Though the Americans with Disabilities Act allows service animals in restaurants, Glaser claims a diner threw him and his Jack Russell out.

James Glaser, a disabled Iraq war veteran who suffers from PTSD, was kicked out of Big I's diner in Massachusetts for bringing in his service dog, Jack.

This disabled Iraq war veteran is barking mad.

   Community Protests Restaurant That Kicked Out Veteran And His Service Dog

The owner of a Massachusetts restaurant thought that he knew what service dogs look like, and the terrier in his dining didn’t fit the profile. “It just looked like a regular mutt,” he told a reporter. Not like the guide dogs for the blind or alert dogs for the deaf that most people picture when they hear the words “service dog.” He threw the dog and his owner out of the restaurant, prompting boycotts and howls of protest.

“I may have sworn at him,” the diner owner says. According to the customer, what he actually said was “Get that f-ing fake service dog out of my restaurant.” The community rose up to defend the terrier and his owner, who happens to be an Iraq veteran with two decades of service in the Air Force. The dog helps him with post-traumatic stress disorder, and had been trained by a group that trains veterans’ existing pets or shelter dogs to serve as service animals.

James Glasser, an Iraq war veteran is claiming that he feels “belittled” after he and his dog — a certified canine that helps him battle post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) — were not allowed inside a local restaurant.
 
Russel Ireland is the man who owns the diner in question, called Big I’s. The veteran claims that Ireland publicly embarrassed him and subsequently turned him away from the establishment, citing his dog, Jack, as the reason for the banishment.
 
The three-year-old Jack Russell Terrier is trained to help Glasser through the night terrors and nightmares he experiences as a result of his military service.

 But when the veteran recently turned up at Big I’s with his dog and wife, he was in for a surprise.

“My feet just got into the restaurant and I ‘hear get that f**king fake service dog out of my restaurant,’” the veteran told NECN-TV. “I’ve never felt so belittled in his life.”
 
Ireland apparently felt that it was unsanitary for Jack to be brought in without a harness or muzzle (although Glasser claims the dog had a leash). By Ireland’s account, the dog ate from Glasser’s plate as well — something that the owner felt was especially unclean.

In interviews with the media, Ireland said that, at first, he did not believe that the dog was being used to assist the man with a medical problem and he recognized that he overreacted, telling NECN-TV that he wishes he would have handled the situation better.
 
“I didn’t say anything last time he was in, so it was partially my fault. I admit this, I overreacted, granted, I’m only human,” Ireland said, despite defending his decision not to want the dog and his master at the restaurant.

There’s a rally of motorcycles and service dogs planned for this weekend, and the restaurant owner now admits that he simply didn’t know what the dog’s job was or what he was trained to do.

Picture by Henry Marc


               Oxford diner owner apologizes for turning away veteran, service dog

OXFORD, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) — The owner of Big I's diner in Oxford apologized in front of hundreds of people Saturday for turning away an Iraq war veteran and service dog from his restaurant.

James Glaser, the veteran who was turned away, attended the rally with his dog, Jack. A week after the confrontation that sparked a firestorm, Glaser and Russell Ireland are at peace. The two hugged and stood as a united front Saturday, exactly one week after the two had a run-in at the diner.

It was last Saturday when Ireland booted Glaser and Jack out of the restaurant. Glaser, who served 21 years in the Air Force, suffers from severe post-traumatic stress disorder and takes Jack everywhere with him. He told FOX 25 earlier this week that Jack is trained to calm him down anytime he has an episode.

This Saturday, about 300 veterans showed up at Greenbriar Park in Oxford for a PTSD awareness rally. It was there Ireland apologized for kicking Glaser and Jack out.

"I stand here in front of you embarrassed, ashamed, and I just ask for some forgiveness, that's all," Ireland said.

Ireland said he wasn't educated about PTSD and overreacted.

"I never realized what a mistake I made," he said. "The information about post-traumatic stress and the situation of these vets needs to be addressed. Education needs to be brought out about this so people will know how to react."

Now, both Glaser and Ireland say they want to use this as a learning experience to teach others about PTSD and the rights of those with service dogs.

"I would like to do anything I can to educate other people about this problem and I'm going to start with my staff in my own restaurant," said Ireland.

"In my book, we've already succeeded," said Glaser. "We've gotten one business to change their mind on PTSD and he's gonna pass it on."


          GOOD LUCK TO JAMES & JACK........... Special Thanks to Henry Marc!


Sgt Mac's Bar allows all Dogs, to include four legged ones........... Drop in Anytime