Not a guide dog, strictly speaking, but I couldn't fit 'assistance' in with the point I wanted to make in the thread title
Mum claims taxi driver refused to take her assistance dog
https://www.basingstokegazette.co.uk/ne ... tance-dog/
Image: Basingstoke Gazette
A BASINGSTOKE mum who suffers with seizures has been left feeling upset and embarrassed after she claims a taxi driver refused to allow her into his car with her assistance dog.
Bex Clifton called Alpha Cars to get home from Basingstoke hospital after she visited the emergency department with chest pains on Tuesday.
The mum-of-two from South Ham claims the driver who arrived at around 12.30pm refused to allow her 12-year-old assistance dog Maxxy into the car.
She said: “He said he didn’t want him in the car. I told him he can’t refuse us and he said he didn’t care. I just felt discriminated against. I was trying to get home from hospital.”
Bex, who has a heart condition and has been suffering with unexplained seizures for the last two years, relies on Jack Russell Collie cross Maxxy to alert her when she is about to suffer a seizure.
He was trained to recognise a scent released prior to a seizure happening, which enables him to alert Bex so she can make sure she is somewhere safe.
“He pulls on my clothes to alert me,” she explained, adding: “I go out more with him because I was worried about having a seizure and he makes me feel more confident knowing I’ll be safe.”
The 38-year-old said the incident at the hospital left her feeling upset, adding: “I feel angry and upset because there were other people about and they might have thought I had done something wrong.”
She called Alpha Cars and the company sent another taxi to collect Bex, before offering her an apology. Bex, who runs her own business, has also reported the matter to Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council.
She said: “The driver told Alpha Cars that he has an allergy to dogs but you need an exemption certificate if that’s the case which he didn’t have.”
It is not the first time Bex has experienced problems in Basingstoke.
In December 2019 the mum was in the Gazette after being told to leave Sainsbury’s supermarket in The Malls with Maxxy.
She told the Gazette at the time that a member of staff shouted at her in front of other customers.
Sainsbury’s gave her a full apology and a voucher as a gesture of goodwill.
A spokesperson for Alpha Cars said: "Alpha Cars assisted a customer in sending within five minutes a replacement car following a customer call.
"Management staff called her back staying on the phone talking to the customer advising on tracking progress of the car.
"Alpha Cars is fully compliant with the Equality Act and transports hundreds of individuals a week with specific needs.
"It's alleged that a self employed B&DBC licensed driver failed to pickup the customer with an assistance dog against the conditions of his badge. Basingstoke Council Licencing department are investigating the driver conduct."
Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council has been asked for a comment.
