Brewport Brewing Co

Posting for a friend!! After watching the Hartford Braillers play a hockey game at the arena we went to Brewport. Approximately eight of us met for dinner after the game. Only two of us are Blind, and had our service dogs with us. Unfortunately, we were met at the front door with hearing, “ we have a problem here “, from a staff member, who apparently notified management. A few moments later owner Jeff Browning came to ask us,” Do you have papers for those dogs ?”. During that exchange, Jeff actually told one of the people with us that, “ she doesn’t look blind, “, referring to Honorata. I think he realized I was blind, while attempting to hand him my business card. I told him to look at my card before he said anything more. But then, it still got worse, as he told us,” that they probably are real service dogs because I waved my hand in front of their faces, and they did not react “! then, the kicker, he tells me, “ I know that I can only ask two questions, like is it a service dog and what does it do…”! I politely told him that he should have led with those questions. He started on about people bringing their pets into the restaurant, and we agree that this is indeed a problem, but he cannot discriminate and make up his own rules with respect to service animals. which would not only violate the law, but be discriminatory. I wanted to just leave, not give him my business, but we were with a group, and Honorata always says that we should go in in order to lay the groundwork for people who come behind us who may face this discrimination. it is a bitter pill to swallow while only exercising our rights as disabled individuals, fighting to show that we belong is a daily struggle. during our Uber ride back home, I looked at their website. It states, paraphrasing,” that animals are not allowed because of health department rules “. Well, this is technically true, it does not apply to service animals. Comfort dogs, therapy dogs, and emotional support animals do not meet the legal definition of a service animal, and therefore could be kept out of such an establishment. therefore not protected by law. A service animal is defined as a dog or miniature horse, which has been trained to mitigate a disability for an individual. Our guide dogs clearly fit this description as they are trained for orientation and mobility because we are blind. A service dog handler need not present papers, nor should they be asked for because they’re exists no requirement under the law nor supplied under the law a license, registration, or a certificate affirming a service animal. This would, however, be helpful in my opinion, because people are purchasing vests, harnesses, laches, and even photo identification cards online saying that they have a service animal. Many states have laws against impersonating, a service animal, but we are fighting that the local municipalities do not know this and therefore seldom enforce it. With that said, on the website for this business, when they declare animals are not permitted, they should in fact have a statement which exempts legitimate service animals. Not every service animal handler is well-versed in the federal and local laws surrounding service animals. By the way, our waitress was shocked to learn that there were two German Shepherds under the table! She had no clue until she saw us leaving! We recognize the difficulties businesses face dealing with fake service animals. This fact, however, should never result in discriminating, insulting, humiliating, embarrassing, or causing anxiety for those with disabilities! Frankly, it was the worst experience I’ve ever encountered since receiving Chloe in 2017. This owner needs to hear from the blind and disabled community that this behavior will not be tolerated. Please note, that upon leaving, we spent some time with the owner, not only reiterating what the requirements are under the law, but offering free training for the staff. We also let them know how horrific the experience was for us, and that the situation never should’ve happened.