A man in Australia has won an anti-discrimination claim against a pub that refused him entry with his service dog, according to a report in 7News. Raymond Matthews has been awarded AUD 8,000 (Rs 4.3 lakh) in compensation, the outlet said.
Matthews told 7News that he was a regular at The Woombye Pub, a short distance from his home. “I normally go there for a chicken parmi and a beer, maybe once or twice a week,” he said.
But after the management change in 2017, Mr. Matthews was asked to leave his chihuahua named “Coo-ee” out. “(The) dog was almost run over one night because he had to stay outside,” he said. “I went back in and was sent out and suspended for a month and pretended to be the bad guy – that I had intimidated people,” Matthews added.
This incident forced Matthews to take legal action, the outlet said.
“I just wanted someone to let me back into the pub,” he told the outlet.
A tribunal awarded Mr Matthews AUD 8,000 in damages after finding that the venue violated anti-discrimination laws.
“They didn’t know there were other witnesses who testified,” he said.
Matthews claimed the pub had also apologized to him.