A local National Guard veteran and service dog owner said she was told she couldn’t bring her dog into the main dining area of a restaurant in Southwest Bakersfield.
January Bottoms said an employee at the La Fonda Restaurant told her she wasn’t allowed to bring her dog inside.
She claims she showed the dog’s ID to the employee and they took her order, but later told her she had to sit in the back of the restaurant.
A manager at La Fonda said they do not refuse service to anyone even if they have a service dog.
Restaurants cannot segregate a person with a service animal away from where customers are normally served, according to the Americans With Disabilities Act.