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McDonald's denies ordering service dog out

EDMONTON, Alberta, June 14 (UPI) -- A Canadian McDonald's franchise owner in Alberta is denying a brain-injured man's allegations he was told to leave because his service dog smelled bad.

John Dignard told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. he and his dog Eve were asked to leave the restaurant Monday in Wetaskiwin, 40 miles south of Edmonton.

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Dignard relies on the registered service dog to help him through episodes of confusion and short-term memory lapses, the report said.

He said he was rebuked by McDonald's owner and manager D.J. Sharma.

"Your dog stinks and everybody is writing letters to me," Diggard says Sharma told him. "I'm tired of it and I want you to leave."

However, in a written statement, Sharma denied asking Diggard to leave.

"The customer and his service animal have always been welcome in the restaurant and at no time were they refused service or asked to leave," Sharma wrote. "We reached out to the customer after receiving numerous customer complaints regarding the individual's behavior and the well-being of his service animal."

Dignard told the CBC he will be filing a complaint with the Alberta Human Rights Commission.

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