Las Vegas restaurant is sent cease and desist letter after disastrous Bluey-themed event left children in tears

A popular Las Vegas restaurant chain was hit with a cease and desist order after hosting a disastrous Bluey-themed event for families.

Dirt Dog hosted a free event on May 11 promoting games, treats, face painting and the chance to meet Bluey – a popular cartoon dog for Australian children.

However, the operation went downhill when hundreds of parents and children lined up to meet Bluey, only to be greeted by “a man in a romper,” as described by one rejected customer.

The restaurant offered to host a repeat event but will no longer be able to do so as the show’s exclusive licensee, BBC Studios, orders the event to be halted.

They said the unauthorized event “is likely to cause confusion and harm BBC Studios, Ludo Studio and the BLUEY franchise,” according to a copy of the letter obtained by VOS5.

The restaurant offered to host a make-up event after hundreds of parents and children lined up to meet Bluey only to be greeted by “a man in a romper.”

“BBC Studios has learned from press reports that you previously hosted a BLUEY DAY event that ‘descended into chaos’ with crying children and disappointed parents,” the legal document said.

‘To avoid any further harm, BBC Studios requires that you cancel any scheduled BLUEY DAY events and that you immediately and permanently cease offering any services or products relating to or in any way using the BLUEY brand , any confusingly similar variations thereof, and/or images of characters that are the exclusive intellectual property of Ludo Studio.”

Outraged customers had previously flooded the restaurant’s Facebook page with negative reviews about the event.

Customers said the face painting was done poorly by the restaurant’s untrained staff, and the children’s treats were gone before everyone got inside.

Some parents also complained about the cleanliness of the restaurant and the man in the Bluey costume’s apparent disinterest in the children.

The cease and desist said the unauthorized event is “likely to cause confusion and harm BBC Studios, Ludo Studio and the BLUEY franchise.”

Customers said the face painting was done poorly by the restaurant’s untrained staff, and the children’s treats were gone before everyone got inside

‘I understand they had to be quick designs, but whiskers and a paw print? The promised “treats” were cupcakes that you had to pay for. We saw no games and no activities,” one parent wrote.

‘Temu Bluey costume and decorations from Dollar Tree on display at Dirt Dog Las Vegas Rainbow! Thanks for ruining my three year old’s day!’ wrote another scorned mother.

‘My son was devastated and I’ve already driven for 45 minutes. We love dirty dogs… but this time, my friends, you ruined it. Poor marketing, poor thinking, you really disappointed my son,” a third wrote.

Dirt Dog responded to the news of the shutdown, saying they had only good intentions and planned to host other non-Bluey-themed community events.

‘It is with heavy hearts that we have to announce that we can no longer host a Bluey event for our community. “Staff from Las Vegas to Los Angeles are completely disappointed by this news,” the restaurant said.

“We had only the purest intentions of giving back to the people around us. We sincerely hope that the Vegas community will forgive us and continue to support us as we continue to move forward in our community involvement.

“We will continue to host more family events to give back to the families who continue to support us. On June 29, 2024, we will be hosting our farmers market for our local entrepreneurs, including a coloring station for children, carnival games, free slushies and much more.”

“We hope that everyone affected by the previous event will come out and support small businesses in our community.”