Calgary Cab Driver Fined, Suspended for Refusing Service Because of a Guide Dog

Kim Kilpatrick and her guide dog were denied a ride by a cab driver in Calgary when he said dogs were not allowed in his cab.

Kilpatrick who is from Ottawa was in Calgary to perform a show, Raising Stanley/Life with Tulia which tells her story about living and working with guide dogs.

“It’s a bit of an emotional jerk”, Kilpatrick told Calgary Herald in the lobby of downtown Calgary’s Lunchbox Theatre. “This dog is not just a ‘thrill’ or like some little benefit – this dog helps me get around every day.”

According to Kilpatrick, she used an app to book the taxi after her show last Sunday afternoon at Lunchbox Theatre, located at the bottom of the Calgary Tower. She said when the cab arrived, the driver told her that dog wasn’t allowed in the vehicle because he didn’t want dog hair all over his car.

Kilpatrick says she told him it was illegal to refuse service because of a guide dog and he said “put the dog in the trunk.” She told the driver her dog couldn’t go in the trunk and she eventually canceled the ride and booked another from the same company without any problems.

Kilpatrick said she later called the company to file a complaint and a dispatcher told her to order a pet friendly cab next time. She then called 311 to complain to Vehicle for Hire, the city department that oversees taxis and rideshares.

An investigation was launched and Calgary United Cabs has now temporarily suspended the driver until investigation is concluded. The driver was also “fined $700 and would need to retake in-office training in order to reactivate his vehicle following suspension”, said Rajeev Gopinath, marketing manager for Calgary United Cabs.

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