A blind man has been refused service by Wetherspoons after being told his guide dog did not meet pub entry requirements.
Karl Denning, who is registered blind, says he has been turned away from two Wetherspoons pubs in Birmingham and from The Full Moon in Dudley because he was unable to provide specific documentation for his assistance dog.
Wetherspoons introduced a policy in May 2025 requiring customers with assistance dogs to show identification linked to an Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK) accredited organisation before being allowed entry.
Mr Denning said: "It has all our private information in, and being blind you do have a tendency to lose things quite often.
"It leaves you and your dog vulnerable because somebody's got your dog's name, picture, your name, and your address."
He explained that he does not carry the ADUK identification booklet for these reasons and described the policy as burdensome and unsafe to him as a blind man.
Despite his frustration, Mr Denning praised Wetherspoons for other aspects of accessibility, including disabled toilet access and the ability to order from the app.
They remain an outlier in the pub scene when it comes to accepting assistance and guide dogs.
He also recalled previous productive conversations with the chain, and proposed a solution to them.
He said: "if you had a guide dog in a white harness, they could come ask you if it was a guide dog, they could advise you where you may want to sit in the pub and if they were unsure they could phone the guide dogs regulator or look up the unique number all guide dogs have on their collar."
However, the current ADUK booklet policy was introduced.
He is now calling on Wetherspoons to reconsider its approach and move closer to the practices of other pubs.
He said: "I am classed as a vulnerable adult as a blind man, and I believe carrying the documentation in public is not safe for me or my dog."
Mr Denning also argued that guide dogs are highly trained and pose no risk to others in public settings.
In 2025, Guide Dogs said the lifetime cost of turning a puppy into a working guide dog and supporting the partnership throughout its working life was about £102,000. This includes breeding, puppy raising, training and ongoing support.
In response to Mr Denning’s experience, Wetherspoons declined to comment publicly.
A spokesperson said: "Wetherspoon will not comment on this directly.
"However, the gentleman is known to Wetherspoon and we will get in touch with him direct to discuss the issue."
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