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Doug Waterbury, the owner of the Sterling Renaissance Festival in New York, has been slammed online after firing a disabled person from the festival. Matthew Gordon, who has been known as the “roaming pickle vendor” at the Sterling Renaissance Festival for years, took to TikTok on June 28, 2023, to share that Doug has fired him.
Matthew was laid off from the pickle vending job because he defended his right to keep a service animal by his side on the fairgrounds. He claimed that Doug told him he was firing him because he did not like Matthew's attitude.
The roaming pickle vendor asked viewers if anyone knew a lawyer who deals with the violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act. He added that Doug Waterbury still owns the Sterling Renaissance Festival and apparently discriminates against disabled veterans who own service dogs.
His video went viral and was reposted on social media platforms like Twitter. @TizzyEnt shared the video on the blue bird app and asked if any attorney who deals with the aforementioned lawsuits would like to reach out.
What transpired between Doug Waterbury and Matthew Gordon?
Every year, Matthew roams around the fair, drags a cart around, and sells pickles to visitors. In his video, he said that he has been going to the festival grounds to walk the hills and reacclimate to the grounds for the past couple of weeks. He had been visiting the grounds for a month, twice or thrice a week without any issue, while his service dog, Faith, had accompanied him.
Matthew claimed that he had spoken to casts, the head of the grounds crew, vendors, the stage manager, and the office manager at the festival grounds with Faith by his side, who had no issues with the dog.
However, on June 27 around 3:15 pm, as Matthew reached the main entrance of the festival, Doug Waterbury was on his way to the box office area. At this point, he stopped Matthew to tell him that dogs are not allowed on the property.
When Matthew asked Doug since when dogs were not allowed in the fairgrounds, the latter responded that he had put the rule in place this year. Matthew replied that Faith is a service dog, so she can go where he goes. However, Doug told him that he does not care, but Matt’s dog is not allowed on the shire.
When the pickle vendor told the festival owner that it was a violation of the law which allowed Faith to go with him, Doug told him that he will have to look into the law. The owner refused to be lenient and asked Matthew if he wanted to work at the festival, to which Matt replied:
“Yes but this is a violation of my rights and of the law.”
Doug then challenged Matt to report him and walked inside the box office. After that, Matthew opened the specific section in the Americans with Disabilities Act on his phone, which talks about service dogs. He walked into the box office where Jen, the general manager of the festival, was working. Matt told her:
"Hey, Jen, tell Doug if he doesn't want me to sue the sh*t out of this place, that my service dog can go where I can go."
Doug Waterbury then walked out of the back office and told the pickle vendor that he had his chance, but now he is fired. When Matthew tried to clarify if Doug was firing him because he had a service dog, the latter told him that he was firing him because of his attitude.
The pickle vendor tried to reason that his attitude was like that because Doug was denying him and his service dog their rights as stated by the law. However, Doug Waterbury stuck to his decision.
Doug Waterbury garners backlash online after firing disabled veteran
Many people commented on @TizzyEnt's Twitter video, where he shared Matthew's clip. Some tried to help the case by providing legal advice as per their capability, while others strongly condemned Doug Waterbury for how he acted.
As stated in the Americans with Disabilities Act, nonprofits and businesses that are open to the general public are required to allow service animals, even if the organization has a “no pets” policy.
Matthew Gordon’s service dog, Faith, accompanies him and helps him combat PTSD. He said that huge crowds as well as unexpected noises often trigger his anxiety. Faith is trained to catch up on these cues so that she can ground Matthew before he starts spiraling.
