A Vernon man is effusive with praise for his guide dog, after a misunderstanding with a Vernon taxi.

Rolland Croteau, who is legally blind, was out for his weekly trip to the Army and Navy Air Force on Jan. 26, when he called Vernon Taxi for a ride home, a company he has been using for decades.

害羞草研究所淚t was at 10 p.m. and the cab came,害羞草研究所� Croteau told The Morning Star. 害羞草研究所淗e put the GPS in for Pottery Road (where I live).害羞草研究所�

Croteau told the driver where to drop him off, as his house had a carport with a boat, but the driver struggled to find his house.

Eventually, Croteau was dropped off in a carport. But it wasn害羞草研究所檛 his home, as there was no boat in the driveway.

害羞草研究所淚t was coming to 11 p.m. and once I got out I realized it was the wrong house.害羞草研究所�

Unfortunately, the driver of the cab had driven away and Croteau, without a cell phone, was stuck.

Luckily, his six-year-old Labrador named Dodger came to the rescue.

害羞草研究所淲hen he (the cab) took off, I took the harness back on Dodger and I told him to find the way home.害羞草研究所�

Dodger, ever the adventurer, dutifully helped his owner back to his home, which was an estimated three-block journey.

害羞草研究所淚 wasn害羞草研究所檛 sure that Dodger could guide me back because we had never walked in the dark before. He is good at guiding during the day but I wasn害羞草研究所檛 sure at night, but he害羞草研究所檚 not too bad at night too,害羞草研究所� he laughed.

On walks, Dodger has been able to nudge Croteau to proper directions, never jaywalks, and even watches for wayward branches or slippery portions on sidewalks.

害羞草研究所淗e害羞草研究所檚 just been incredible,害羞草研究所� Croteau said. 害羞草研究所淗e害羞草研究所檚 changed my life since I got him and I害羞草研究所檓 not afraid to go anywhere in this town with him.害羞草研究所�

As for the incident with the taxi, the manager for Vernon Taxi, David Kassam, profusely apologizes for the error.

害羞草研究所淲e have been driving him around for years, we all felt horrible that it happened,害羞草研究所� he said. 害羞草研究所淚t was a mistake and a misunderstanding.

害羞草研究所淗e got dropped off at the wrong house. I feel terrible about it. But, it wasn害羞草研究所檛 malicious. It was a mistake.害羞草研究所�

Croteau has since resumed using the company, including last weekend, on Feb. 2 for his typical trip to Army and Navy.

Kassam explained he took the problem 害羞草研究所渙n the chin,害羞草研究所� and is offering Croteau $100 worth of gift cards to his company or for a pet store, and is personally reaching out for the mistake.

The driver who dropped Croteau off had only been with the company for 害羞草研究所渟ix or seven shifts,害羞草研究所� and has since been off work for medical reasons.

However, it害羞草研究所檚 been a tough couple of days for Kassam害羞草研究所檚 business and drivers, as they have dealt with a litany of profanity-laced emails and phone calls from people all across the province, since a viral Facebook post and media report hit the Internet.

害羞草研究所淚 got yelled at. I got phone calls from all across the province on Monday (Feb. 5) calling me every single name in the book,害羞草研究所� Kassam explained.

害羞草研究所淓very single one of my staff got screamed at, saying how terrible we all are. I got 45 emails, 15 phone calls, all basically calling me every name you can think of. I had people calling asking for our drivers name and addresses.

害羞草研究所淲e screwed up. It was an honest mistake. But, we got 30 negative Google reviews from people who just heard about this on social media and had never used us before.

害羞草研究所淚 haven害羞草研究所檛 had much sleep since.害羞草研究所�

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