A TikTok has gone viral showing a Lyft driver driving away after refusing to accept a woman as a customer because she had a service dog. In the 25-second clip, the owner of the “Growing Gimli” account (username @growing.gimli) films the driver heading off without her while she speaks over it.
The subtitles provide a transcription of what she says, which is, “So that Lyft driver would not take us because I have a service dog. So yay for that lady. She completely denied us a ride because I had my service dog with me. Thanks Lyft.” The video ends with a picture of the dog, Gimli, in a vest, with the sarcastic text “So scary” accompanying it.
The video’s description reads, “A @Lyft drive just denied Gimli and me a ride… Yay for following the ADA. This is what happens when the ADA doesn’t have teeth to enforce it. #servicedoglife #servicedog #workingdog #discrimination #ADA #disability #disabilitytiktok #lyftdriver #deniedaccess.”
It has garnered quite a lively response on TikTok — and not all of the replies are what you might expect them to be.
How did TikTok react?
Most people who commented appeared to side with the driver, with many asking the woman if she’d mentioned having a dog with her before ordering the Lyft. Such comments included, “did you mention it upon placing the ride,” “Good for her,” “that could have been avoided if u had told them before hand so u can get a driver that would,” “I usually call ahead if my pup is with me just to avoid this,” and “when you ordered the ride did u add pet yes or no?”
As much as most of us love dogs, those users may have a point. Some drivers may be scared of or allergic to dogs, for example, while others may not want the potential cleanup operation if a dog leaves a lot of hair behind or has an unfortunate accident.
However, the woman responded to one of those comments asking if she’d let the driver know beforehand by saying, “I’m not required to. and she didn’t hadn’t the right to deny me for it. if she does deny me, it’s a $75,000 fine.”
An Uber driver added their two cents, writing, “Uber has an option for drivers to choose to p/u passengers w/dogs.I did ONCE, never again, bc it took me 1.5 hrs to cleanup all the hair & I lost money during the busiest time,” which adds some weight to the driver being justified in their refusal to accept the dog as a passenger.
Of course, some people did have sympathy for the woman’s predicament, with one writing, “Ma’am as a ride share driver I’m so sorry. Had you been in my area your service dog and yourself would have had a 5 star ride and I always keep treats for the pets” and another saying, “This has happened to me too, I’m so sorry.”
According to information obtained by Cleveland Clinic, around one in every three people with a phobia of animals has an overwhelming fear of dogs (cynophobia). If the Lyft driver in this video was one of those people, it’s understandable that they wouldn’t want a pooch in the back of their vehicle while driving.
