I have heard many tales of humans leaving unspeakable mess in taxis. Humans get drunk, become abusive, don’t pay their fare and even assualt the driver. The worst ‘offence’ I’ve ever witnessed of a dog in a taxi is leaving a few hairs behind – something I’m more than capable of doing with or without my dog.
I was forced to abandon attempts at attending the Dogs Day Out show near Bletchley last weekend because I could not find a single taxi firm that was prepared to take my dog, bar one that wanted to charge me an additional two thirds of the original fare quoted for the ‘privilege’. I would have had no guarantee that I could have found a driver to take me back at the end of the day. There are no Sunday bus services in that part of the world and the roads are too dangerous to walk on. Not everyone can afford to run a car and many people are obliged to stop driving as their capacities decline. Are they then to be left to fester indoors if they have a dog?
The range of excuses that I encountered from taxi firms were astonishing. One even told me that it was illegal to carry dogs unless they were assistance dogs. Another said that it would only carry dogs registered with Guide Dogs for the Blind but would refuse any other type of assistance dog.
My “favourite” comment was uttered with all the contempt, rudeness and total disgregard for customer service that only the English can muster:
“I don’t see why we should take your dog in our vehicle just because you can’t be bothered to walk home from the park”.