TikToker alleges he and guide dog tossed from Seattle restaurant

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A popular legally blind TikToker claims he was booted from a Seattle restaurant along with his guide dog when a staffer at the eatery didn’t believe he was blind.

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“I walked in with my guide dog, Mr. Maple, and immediately somebody rushed up to me and said, ‘No pets allowed, only service dogs,’” said the young man known only as Paul.

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He chronicles his adventures with his partner on the TikTok account MatthewandPaul, which has more than 2.1 million followers.

On his TikTok, Paul said he explained: “‘It’s OK, he’s a service dog,’ but the staffer looked at him and his dog, Maple, and said, ‘Emotional support dog?’

“No, like a guide dog for the blind,” Paul responded.

“I literally had this harness attached to him,” Paul added, referring to the words “Guide Dogs for the Blind” on Mr. Maple’s harness.

“I showed this to him, I said ‘I’m blind.’”

“He said, ‘You don’t look blind,’ and I said, ‘A lot of people in the blind community still have some functional vision.’”

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As Paul has explained on TikTok, he has Retinitis pigmentosa which, according to the National Eye Institute, causes the “cells in the retina break down slowly over time, causing vision loss.”

Paul can see a small tunnel of vision, surrounded by “moving light, popping random colors, almost like fireworks.”

Paul said that he tried to explain this at the restaurant.

“He said, ‘You’re looking right at me.’ I said, ‘Yes, but it’s like I have a pinhole of vision — that’s all I can see.’

“He said, ‘Listen, this isn’t my first rodeo’ — he literally said that — he said, ‘This isn’t my first rodeo.’”

“What is going on out there that would lead this man to believe that I was lying?”

Paul continued: ‘’He said, ‘Do you see any other dogs in this restaurant?’ I said, ‘Honestly, no. I’m blind. There could be.’”

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When Paul offered to come back with his dog’s paperwork, he said he was told: “If you step foot back in this restaurant with that dog I will call the police.”

“I’m speechless,” he concluded his video, which had some 5.1 million views and counting.

“Service animals must be allowed into all areas of a place of public accommodation where the general public is allowed,” said the Washington State Human Rights Commission, which adds, “this includes dining and eating areas, restrooms, and areas where food is sold.”

Paul declined to name the restaurant, though commenters offered their support, saying, “Pretty sure if you name the restaurant all the Seattle baddies with service dogs will congregate.”

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