Pardon? I think my brain is broken.

She could’ve just explained that she had a guide dog rather than legal action

Makes it sound like an intentional set-up on her part. She's probably just a monster, frankly.

Hi. Not quite understand. Why dog vest are so important

Service dogs usually wear vests to distinguish them from normal pets. This lady is claiming that her dog is a service dog, but it's not wearing a vest so OP is pretty sure she's lying.

Thank you. I had some trouble understanding this one too.

Problem is you can just buy those vests on amazon and fake a service dog. A true service dog will have documentation (ie: paperwork).

Not in the States.

Time for you to get a lawyer it seems.

Though a service dog vest isn't necessary by law what you did was a perfectly normal reaction to a normal dog. Since you couldn't know that this was in fact a service dog without seeing a vest or asking the woman you losing your job is simply unwarranted.

The woman sounds like a bitch. Sorry I went there.... had to be done.
Honestly the dog should have a vest or harness that says he/she is a working dog. As far as loosing your job I feel for you. But if your now former employer is that stupid and couldn't see the problem, you are better off.
You deserve better

Aside from the fact that it's ridiculous to blame OP for not knowing it was a service dog WHEN SHE DID NOT LET THEM KNOW THAT... WTF is this vests BS? True some dogs hate clothing, though most don't. But then so what- if you can't use the vest, you can get a harness or collar with "service dog" written all along the fabric, I've seen them. Perhaps she thinks collars and harnesses are cruel too, sigh.
And yet somehow reducing someone's income to zero just because they tried to respect the health code ISN'T cruel, hmmm.

I bet she's faking it. There is an epidemic of fake service animals so people can bring their dogs into places where dogs are not supposed to go. A legitimate service animal will wear a vest and the handler knows that the vest means the dog is working.

Um, did the dog have the special harness on that Guide Dogs wear? If not, she’s probably lying. Next you’ll have
Dr Hamilton Finn claiming that Roxy, his… iguana (? can’t remember, exactly) is his service animal.
Usually service animals of that type (emotional support, therapy pet) are cats or dogs.

Then again, this was in the UK, which I just noticed. So it could very well be different from the US

Don't think so. It's the same in France so I assume it must be the same pretty much everywhere. The dog has to wear a vest or a harness with a special handle depending on the level of disability of the person (not every owner are completely blind).

Yo, I’m the OP, I hope the mods of the site will be able to connect me to this story!

Since people think I’m being ignorant etc, I decided to make this account to clear things up.

First of all, I am fully aware that medically service dogs are allowed basically anywhere - I’ve got friends and family who have a variety of difficult needs and their dogs are a great help.

The issue of this whole situation is this woman had ZERO indication that her dog was a service animal - as in there was no vest, lead, harness, bandana etc and she herself had no indication either, so I literally had no way to know. There’s a very limited amount of characters on these submissions and obviously I couldn’t put everything on there.

I wasn’t rude either, word for word I said “I’m so sorry ma’am, I have to ask you to move to another table as this area doesn’t allow animals for the comfort of all our guests, may I get you a drink for your trouble?.” There’s three other giant areas of the restaurant she could have gone to with plenty of space. She just went absolutely crazy.

My boss did offer me my job back with a pay rise, but I’d found a nicer place by then. He did apologise a lot and we’re still friends outside of work :)

Good outcome, all things considered. And I'll presume the old boss'll still be a good reference in the future.

Your manager offered you the job back, because it was wrongful dismissal. You can sue them. Furthermore, no reputable service dog organization will allow one of their dogs to be used without a vest, and a leash in public. They are working dogs. If the dog was adverse to the vest it wouldn’t have been trained. They put them in vests as puppies. You were completely right.

Frankly OP, it sounds like she had been planning that all along in order to be able to make a scene and maybe get free food out of it.
She could have easily clarified that her dog was a service dog.
I'm convinced therefore that she did all the drama on purpose.
I'm glad your situation got better though.