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Employee claims she was fired after confronting customer about dog left in car

The restaurant told 11Alive the employee was verbally abusive, and that's why they fired her. But the worker told 11Alive that's not true. Meanwhile, vitriol on social media spills over.

FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — A social media firestorm is raging against a restaurant in Forsyth County because an employee was fired after complaining about a customer sitting at the bar drinking while that customer's dog was in the car outside in the parking lot.

The restaurant told 11Alive the employee was verbally abusive to the customer and to the manager, and that's why they fired her. But the worker told 11Alive that's not true, and that management never accused her of being abusive when firing her.

Marisa Zernach said it was a week ago Saturday when an older woman came in to drink at the bar at the Buffalo's Café near Cumming. She said a six year old girl, who she believes is the woman's granddaughter, was sitting at a table nearby, coloring.

Zernach said she noticed a dog running around outside in the parking lot. It's leash had come loose.

Then Zernach realized the dog belonged to the customer at the bar.

"Next thing I know, I see her going and putting the dog in the car, in a cage," she recalled. "The windows were rolled down, but it doesn't matter. It still gets so hot in there."

Zernach said she tried to convince the manager to intervene, but he told her to stay out of it, it was none of their business. She said she wanted to call police, but the manager told her no, that the woman was about to leave, anyway. But, Zernach said, the woman continued drinking at the bar for some 20 minutes after putting the dog in the car. Zernach said she called her brother in tears, asking what she should do, and her brother called 911.

Sheriff's deputies showed up some 20 minutes after that -- about 40 minutes after the dog was put into the car, Zernach said -- but did not issue any citations.

The manager ended up driving the woman home, while someone picked up the girl at the restaurant. Zernach thinks it was the child's mother.

On Tuesday the manager fired Zernach in a text to her cell phone, calling her insubordinate, saying she lost the restaurant potential business.

"If I didn't do it, the regret would have been with me forever. And I followed my heart," Zernach explained. "I did what I knew was right, and I feel like you can't go wrong doing that."

When she posted it all on Facebook, the post blew up with hundreds of comments within hours. So many people posted attacks on the restaurant's Facebook page, the restaurant shut down the review section.

The manager and the owner would not comment on camera. They told 11Alive, on Wednesday, only that Zernach had been verbally abusive to the manager and to the customer, which she denies. The manager did not, in his text to Zernach when he fired her, accuse her of being abusive to anyone.

The restaurant's parent company, FAT Brands, later sent a written statement on behalf of the company's CEO, saying:

"At Buffalo’s Cafe, we love animals and in fact encourage our customers to invite their dogs to our patio where we offer water, treats, and more. In this situation, there was no animal abuse nor was the dog in danger, as confirmed by the police and their canine unit on-site who responded to the call.

Following the police investigation and clearance, the employee in question proceeded to embarrass the customer and disrespect restaurant management. She was asked to clock out and was subsequently terminated by the franchise ownership.”

Some on social media are saying Zernach is not telling the whole truth, but she says some of those criticizing her are the same people who, earlier, had texted her and spoken to her with words of support and encouragement.

Zernach is 19 and a college sophomore, and said she had worked at that restaurant, for that manager, for two years. She is now looking for a new job--without regrets.

"I don't want to ruin a man's life" or harm the restaurant, she said, "but I do want everybody to know how wrong it was."

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