Tagaytay restaurant accused of breed prejudice after denying customer and pet aspin entry
A popular Tagaytay restaurant is embroiled in a social media firestorm after a diner alleged that the restaurant refused to let her and her aspin (native Filipino dog) entry into the establishment.
In both Instagram and Facebook, marketing manager Lara L. Antonio alleged that Tagaytay's Balay Dako refused to let her and her aspin Yoda entry to the establishment after initially being assured that it was okay. Lara also shared that she had previously taken her aspin Yoda to Balay Dako and was not denied entry.
According to Lara, after being assured that they only need to buy diapers for her dog to be allowed entry, restaurant staff approached the front of house staff who then told Lara that only “medium-sized dogs” are allowed in the establishment. When Lara pointed out that she had already brought Yoda here before, she was asked what breed Yoda was.
Lara then asked what qualifies as a medium-sized dog, and she alleged that restaurant staff told her it was 10 to 15 kilograms. She then checks the restaurant's rules on pet entry and upon discovering that there is no 15-kilogram weight limit, insists on talking to the restaurant's manager.
After being told that Labradors are allowed in the restaurant, Lara points out that that breed in particular are easily 25 kilograms. Lara then claimed that the management of the restaurant said that they are the ones who decide which dog gets to enter the restaurant.
At the end of the post, Lara said that she would have been okay with being refused entry into Balay Dako if the rules were clear on its website or social media. She then told her followers on social media that Balay Dako “is NOT pet friendly to big dogs or Aspins. Don't bother going.”
As of this writing, Lara's post has garnered more than 30,000 reactions and has been shared more than 20,000 times on Facebook. Check out the whole post below.
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While Balay Dako has not yet addressed the situation on its social media as of this writing, its latest post on Facebook has been inundated with irate commenters decrying its alleged discrimination against aspins.
This is the second incident in the past few weeks that involves the discrimination or mistreatment of animals. Last month, the Baluarte Zoo in Vigan, Ilocos Sur faced backlash after video spread of a white lion named King being mistreated at the zoo.
The Baluarte Zoo would then respond twice to the allegations, first to reiterate their zero-tolerance policy for any mistreatment of animals. Their second post on the matter assured the public that they are taking the matter seriously and that they have terminated the employee captured in the viral video.
While not involving animals, another social media firestorm also erupted in July after local Cebu celebrity Jude Bacalso was said to have forced restaurant staff to stand in front of her for two hours for misgendering her.
