No proof of vaccination or negative covid test? No worries if you wanted to dine at The Granary Kitchen in Alberta, which was shut down after being caught accepting pictures of dogs instead.
The locally-owned restaurant in southern Red Deer was temporarily closed by Alberta Health Services (AHS) after it was discovered that diners could show photos of dogs instead of proof of vaccination.
In an order obtained by Red Deer Advocate, AHS received complaints that ""employees are allowing patrons to dine-in when presented with a photograph of a dog and personal identification."
In response, investigators went to The Granary Kitchen undercover and were able to use pictures of dogs to dine at the restaurant.
"The test shoppers entered the premises at separate times. In both instances, facility staff used a tablet to make it appear as if they were scanning a QR code when in fact the staff member was presented with a photograph of a dog," the order said.
"The staff member then proceeded to ask the test shopper for personal identification and offered dine-in services."
On Friday, January 14, the restaurant was ordered to close.
Owner Patrick Malkin told Nation Post he "wasn't acutely aware this was happening."
In a Facebook post, the restaurant wrote: "We had an unfortunate circumstance at our front door which involved one of our underage hostesses, and the requirements for the [Restrictions Exemption] program.
"We are taking the weekend to retrain and regroup. We look forward to serving you again as soon as we are ready to reopen. In closing we would like to remind everyone of the tremendous pressure being placed on front staff, and please remember to be kind."
On the restaurant's most recent Instagram post, one user commented in reference to the incident, writing: 'thank you guys for making the country a bit better one dog photo at a time.'
The restaurant has since reopened.