Army Vet And Service Dog Forced Out Of Local Restaurant

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 SHELBY, NC — A local Army veteran says he will not go back to the Dairy Queen in Shelby.  One of the restaurant’s employees forced him and his service dog out of the restaurant Tuesday.

Spc. Dustin Dalton served two tours of combat.  He returned home from Afghanistan in 2013.  Dalton suffers from PTSD and has a service dog, Thunder.  The two, along with Dalton’s parents and kids, say when they tried to place their food order, an employee told them this:

"He told my mom that he would refuse us service inside, that he would not give us service if we did not go outside,” said Dalton.  "He said hair would get in people’s food.  I just think it’s disrespectful all the way around.”

The owner of the Dairy Queen publicly apologized and says discipline for the employee is still being determined.  He also says, “A customer complained there was a large German shepherd in the dining room.  It was not wearing a vest or harness from my understanding.  This turned into a misunderstanding that was mishandled.  No excuse here, it was handled the wrong way.  They did say it was a service dog and that should have been the end of the discussion.”

Federal law allows service animals access to any place the public would normally go.