Assistance Dogs

'An assistance dog? Oh you mean a Guide Dog. No you can't bring them in here they might distract the other customers....'

In recent months we have been hearing from more and more disabled people who use assistance dogs, on issues they have faced relating to access.

Did you know there are 4500 guide dogs in the UK?

But did you also know that there are approximately 6500 assistance dogs helping disabled people across the UK.

So what is an assistance dog?

There are six main registered charities that provide assistance dogs and who together form Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK). These include:

Guide Dogs for the Blind Association (The), Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, Dogs for the Disabled, Canine Partners, Support Dogs, Dog A.I.D (Assistance in Disability). 

Assistance dogs are trained to carry out tasks such as opening and closing doors, alerting to the sound of alarms, retrieving cash from a cash machine, picking up items, fetching help, alerting to seizures, helping to undress their partners and the list goes on. They can also help improve their partner's confidence, restore a level of independence and reduce anxiety.  

What is life like with an assistance dog? 

Here is a brief insight into the day to day lives of two assistance dog owners.

Rosie began by telling me about the huge levels of support that her Dog A.I.D. partner has given her. It has allowed her to live almost independently and changed her life in so many ways. When I asked Rosie about access she told me that having an assistance dog has allowed her to go to many more places and take part in opportunities that she could not have on her own, however there has been regularly incidents where she has been refused entry to services because of her assistance dog.

Attitudes to Rosie and her dog have varied a lot across the county. In Brighton, Staines and Egham she experienced a lot of difficulties, however in contrast when visiting Portsmouth and also Banbury, where Dogs for the Disabled are trained, the attitudes were very positive.

To help improve access for users of assistance dogs, Rosie believes there is a great need for more public awareness, including educating people that Guide dogs are not the only type of assistance dogs and that they are not all Labradors but can be all types of dogs.

One of Rosie's major concerns is that her dog is often attacked by other dogs whilst in the park and the other dog's owners do not do anything to help.

‘It now seems harder to find safe wheelchair accessible parks for my dog to run free.'

The issue of attacks on Assistance Dogs has been highlighted recently in the news.   Follow this link to read the BBC report.

As an assistance dog user, Rosie was keen to highlight to readers the 1000's of hours of care each dog gives the human disabled partner thus saving the nation several thousands of pounds through its lifetime, yet the charities that train the dogs do not receive a penny from government for the valuable work.  The assistance dog charities are funded solely by donations from the public.

Jenny Moir, Head of PR for Canine Partners told us that,

‘On many occasions, having an assistance dog means a disabled person relies on less human carers and in some cases can replace a carer for large parts of the day. For this reason, some councils pay Direct Payments to the disabled person to help costs associated with having an assistance dog, thus recognising they have a definite role to play as a carer.'

Barry has recently started a partnership with an assistance dog for Canine Partners. He has told us about the many positives of having an assistance dog, however like Rosie, he has also experienced negative attitudes towards his dog especially when out on walks.

From Barry's experience it is younger people that seem to be more aware of assistance dogs, for example many young parents in his local area have told their children, ‘don't touch the dog he is working', which he says helps a lot.

Barry said that a really useful tool when coming up against negative attitudes is that  all registered assistance dogs have ID cards to give to businesses such as food outlets to explain that their dog is a fully trained to be in these environments and will never scrounge food or misbehave and is trained to lay under tables. 

I asked Philip Biggs, Chair of AD UK for his views on some of the issues effecting assistance dog users.

‘Currently disabled, deaf and blind people who have made the life choice to be accompanied by a fully trained assistance dog (Registered Assistance Dog) do not always have the same chances, opportunities or choices as non-disabled people. Neither do they enjoy equal respect or full inclusion in society on an equal basis. This is because employers and service providers often object to an assistance dog being brought onto the premises which is of course potentially unlawful.

This disadvantage and social exclusion experienced by many assistance dog users is not the inevitable result of their sensory impairment or disability but rather stems from the barriers of ignorance and attitude.

Assistance dog users deserve a chance to live in a society where there is genuine respect and understanding.  Equality should be a fundamental right enabling them to participate in society. As responsible, professional and caring organisations Assistance Dog UK members will continue to work with education, employers and those involved in hospitality and the provision of other services with the aim of carving out a pathway of positive change which allows the freedom of unhindered access for disabled people who choose to be accompanied by a fully trained assistance dog.  We must not loose sight of the psychological and emotional benefits which enable assistance dog users to lead a more inclusive life which there is little doubt provides them with more confidence but most importantly increased independence.

The abolition of this socially preventable distress caused by refusal of access is high on our agenda and we will continue to educate and work with all who can influence this unnecessary, unacceptable and unlawful prejudice.  No disabled person accompanied by a fully trained assistance dog should feel ill-at-ease because of his or her disability.  The government issued guidelines about hearing dogs, guide dogs and other assistance dogs which say they are to be viewed as, ‘aids that enable disabled people to live life more independently and that refusal of access is likely to be discrimination in that you are treated less favourably for reasons connected with your disability.'  So what is our long term aim?  It has to be making the freedom of accessibility a reality, not just an aspiration.' 

Businesses and services can help support assistance dogs by displaying a new sticker brought out by Assistance Dogs (UK). If you would like this new sticker, please contact AD (UK) c/o Hearing Dogs for deaf People, The grange, Wycombe road, Saunderton, Princes Risborough, bucks, HP27 9NS.