Learn to accept guide dogs

By Yang Zhenqi Source:Global Times Published: 2014-4-15 17:38:02

Illustration: Lu Ting/GT



From this month, blind people in Shanghai are allowed to take their guide dogs on public transportation and into public venues, under a new regulation that came into effect under the country's law on the protection of disabled people.

However, regulation facilitating guide dog use in Shanghai is not new at all. The city introduced its first rules governing the keeping of dogs, the Shanghai Dog Management Regulations, in 2011.

The regulations stated specifically that guide dogs were exempt from laws that ban pets and animals from public buildings such as hospitals, department stores and hotels, and from boarding buses and trains.

Despite local lawmakers' efforts to make Shanghai more accessible to people with visual impairments, this human-friendly clause attached to the city's dog management regulations hasn't been fully embraced by the general public.

Some bus drivers and metro staffers have reportedly prevented guide dogs from boarding with their blind owners, unaware of the implementation of the regulation. Many passengers have also complained about the potential threats of riding with such big beasts.

I think the biggest reason behind the public's reluctance to allow guide dogs to take public transportation and enter public places lies in a lack of general knowledge about these helpful canines.

The Shanghai Disabled Persons' Federation initiated a guide dog training program back in 2007 in a bid to provide services to visually impaired people in the city. The costs of training a dog range from 100,000 yuan ($16,080) to 200,000 yuan, and are covered by the Shanghai government. The guide dogs were offered free of charge to successful applicants.

However, to be an eligible applicant for a guide dog, a blind person must have a job, mobility skills and have no other dogs at home.

After filling out all the paperwork through all different levels of government and completing interviews and tests for suitability with dog trainers and officials from the Shanghai Guide Dog Association, a candidate may welcome a young guide dog into their home. Together, they will spend about 12 months learning to get along with each other before getting ready to hit the road.

According to the official website of the Shanghai Guide Dog Association, it takes at least two years to properly train a guide dog and there are currently around 20 guide dogs working in Shanghai.

Given the fact that a guide dog is still a rare sight on the city streets, I think there is an urgent need not only to fully enforce the law that allows guide dogs to board public transportation and enter public venues, but also to spread information about the city's guide dog program so that this public service can be known by more people in Shanghai.

For example, the city's metro operators can put up posters clarifying the legality of taking guide dogs on public transportation. Local business watchdogs can also give away flyers so that business owners in Shanghai won't turn away guide dogs and their handlers in future.



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