Love Conquers All, Even Goths

Jan. 30, 2008 — -- In a sleepy town in northern England, Dani Graves dotes on his fiancee, Tasha Maltby.

"She is like a pet to me," Graves told ABC News. "I look after her, I run a bath for her every day, I cook for her, I wake her up every day. I even lay clothes out for her. I spoil her. It makes me happy to spoil her."

And everywhere they go, Graves, 25, leads Maltby, 19, around by a spiked black-leather leash attached to her neck.

"Tasha likes to be taken for a walk," Graves said. "She is animal-like in nature so why not? Just like I used to have pets around the home, she is now my pet. It is difficult at first to have a pet as a partner but it's working quite well. We are so in love now."

Since they started their relationship in the summer, the Gothic couple, who dress in black, have not spent a night apart.

Now the couple's alternative lifestyle has landed them on the front pages of the British tabloids.

In December, the couple, with the leash in his hand and around her neck, were set to board a bus and were stopped by the driver. Graves tells ABC News, the bus driver told them that "we don't let freaks and dogs like you on the bus. … And shoved me off the bus."

"Tasha was very offended," Graves said.

According to Maltby, the bus driver "was not a very nice person. He needs to lighten up."

''He made me really upset. He was really insulting. I am not a weirdo or a freak," she said. "OK, maybe I am not normal, but what is deemed normal these days?"

Arriva, the owners of the bus line involved in the incident, told the BBC they plan to make a formal apology to the couple for the way the incident was handled.

"Arriva takes any allegation of discrimination very seriously and have interviewed the driver regarding Mr. Graves' claims," Arriva told the BBC.

Attempts by ABC News to contact Arriva officials for comment were unsuccessful.

"The bus company has been brilliant. It's just one person, the bus driver," Graves said.

But Arriva officials did defend the driver. Paul Adcock, the operations director, told BBC, "Our primary concern is passenger safety and while the couple are very welcome to travel on our buses, we are asking that Miss Maltby remove her dog lead before boarding the bus. It could be dangerous for the couple and other passengers if a driver had to brake sharply while Miss Maltby was wearing the lead."

This latest bus incident is not the first or second but the third time the Gothic couple says they were not allowed to travel on public transport. What's more is that in each case, it was the same bus driver.

Maltby tells ABC News that they have "considered filing a lawsuit but lawyers are ridiculously expensive and we won't make a profit. We have put in a complaint. The director of operations came around. We told him about three separate incidents and he was really shocked, he only knew of one. He was really helpful."

"We really feel discriminated. I am not breaking any laws. We shouldn't be discriminated against what we wear," Graves said.

"We just want to teach the bus driver a lesson and hopefully next time he will not be closed minded. Right now we just want to let bygones be bygones," he said.

What has come out of this whole experience is that the couple now knows they are not alone. "People see it as weird but people all over the world are like this. They do this at home."

At least 10 people have contacted them and many more have visited their MySpace page.