TORONTO

A tow truck driver lost his job and was fined after he refused to take a senior’s guide dog.

Toronto Police say an elderly couple’s car broke down in the northbound lanes of the Don Valley Parkway near Don Mills Rd. on June 20.

“It was a hot day, 30C plus, and they were returning from a meeting in downtown Toronto and the lady is visually impaired,” 54 Division Supt. Paul MacIntyre told the Toronto Sun on Thursday.

“They phoned CAA for some roadside assistance, but they also asked the police officer to attend as well because the car was in a precarious position.”

Const. Travis Pickett responded to the call and waited for a tow truck to arrive.

“At some point, the tow truck driver recognized the passenger in a car had a guide dog with her,” MacIntyre said.

That’s when the Stellar Roadside Assistance driver refused to take the dog.

“The officer that was on scene got involved. He spoke to the driver and told him that he has to take this guide dog because it is the law,” MacIntyre said.

The driver still refused.

A second tow truck was called in and that driver took the couple and the dog.

Pickett charged the driver with discrimination under the province’s Blind Persons’ Rights Act.

“I’m happy that he (Pickett) recognized that an offence had been committed and that he took action,” MacIntyre said.

The driver, who police did not identify, has since pleaded guilty in court and received a $120 fine.

“Our policy is that the dogs are taken into the vehicle and I just don’t understand how this could have happened, but it did happen,” Alex Anissimoff, president at Stellar Roadside Assistance, told the Sun.

“Once this thing was brought to my attention, we immediately moved to terminate his relationship with us.”