Disabled vet kicked out of Houston restaurant over service dog
by Drew Karedes / KHOU 11 News
Posted on February 27, 2014 at 9:54 AM
Updated Thursday, Feb 27 at 9:54 AM
HOUSTON — A U.S. Army and Navy veteran says he was told he had to leave a west Houston restaurant because of his service dog.
Aryeh Ohayon says it happened Tuesday at the Thai Spice Buffet II restaurant in the 2500 block of South Voss Road.
Ohayon called Houston Police and waited inside the restaurant.
He claims the officer who responded made him feel even worse.
“I told him what my disabilities were. That’s when he said, ‘you’re not blind’,” recalled Ohayon. “[He said] ‘I don’t see why you need the dog.’”
Ohayon served this country for 23 years.
He says the memories from his more than two decades of service have led to depression and PTSD, both of which his service dog Bandit is there for.
“He’s the alert if I start to have a panic attack or start to go into a flashback mode,” said Ohayon.
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Houston police kick out veteran with service dog from restaurant
Published time: February 27, 2014 20:24
A Houston, Texas, police officer allegedly kicked a US Army and Navy veteran out of a local restaurant for bringing in a service dog on the grounds that he wasn’t actually blind.
According to local news outlet KHOU, Aryeh Ohayon served in the US military for 23 years. Ohayon said his service dog, named “Bandit,” helps him deal with the lingering effects of depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), especially if he begins to suffer from panic attack or a flashback linked to his prior experiences.
The incident began when Ohayon entered a Thai restaurant for dinner and was denied service by the manager. The veteran called police to clear up the situation, but he said the responding officer only denigrated his condition.
“I told him what my disabilities were,” Ohayon told KHOU. “That’s when he said, you’re not blind. [He said] I don’t see why you need the dog.”
“It feels like your service and experience that you’ve done to defend and uphold the Constitution and protect this country have been belittled,” he added.
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