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A Sight That Gladdened My Heart


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A lady with a couple of friends . . . . . and her GUIDE DOG!! Right inside the restaurant.

:thumbsup: to the owner. There is an outside area, but the weather has been filthy for days.

:thumbsup: From me too

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Definitely lovely to see, but the owner had no choice, guide dogs are allowed to go anywhere :thumbsup:

That may be the case, but some people with assistance dogs are made to feel so unwelcome that they just don't cite the legalities. All these people were smiling.

Edited by Mother Moocher
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My brother's assistance dog has never been refused from entering any establishment... and if it's a restaurant, he usually gets asked if the dog will be dining too - and they will bring a bowl of food for the dog if he's allowed to eat whatever they are serving.

Most of the time the dog will happily curl up under my brother's chair - you wouldn't even know he was there.

T.

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That is great! I love seeing assistance dogs. I don't see many, but I did see one the other day when we were out shopping. It was directing his/her owner to a table in the food court! :eat:

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Yay :) I was in a lovely cafe called Kelby's in Marrickville and saw they had a big sticker on their front door "Guide Dogs and owners welcome!" It was a delight to see!

I wonder how the blind go about spotting that sticker.... :vomit:

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I never know what to expect when walking into a restaurant. It's the law that Assistance Dogs are allowed in restaurants, but unfortunately that doesn't mean the restaurant staff are always happy to see Assistance Dogs, or that they know the laws or choose to go by them.

Almost always, my worrying has been for nothing, and the staff have been lovely. A few times I've been asked if she's a Guide Dog, because "only Guide Dogs are allowed in here." I feel that in part, this is a response to the huge amount of public education about Guide Dogs, and the lack of education about other types of Assistance Dogs. An example is the "Guide Dogs Welcome Here" stickers on the doors to some shops. Don't get me wrong, I think they're a good idea. But it would help so much more if they could say "Assistance Dogs Welcome Here" rather than "Guide Dogs Welcome Here" since Guide Dogs are a type of Assistance Dog anyway. I believe the stickers are made by the Guide Dog organisations, and there's probably no real incentive for them to change them. People who say that only Guide Dogs are allowed are often the most difficult to try to educate because they think they already know the laws.

We've hardly ever had any issues in the almost three years I've used an Assistance Dog. On the odd occasion I've had to explain the law and give the person a brochure about Assistance Dogs, and that soon resolved the issue. We probably have less issues than some Assistance Dog teams because my dog is a Lab and I think people tend to assume she's a Guide Dog.

I find that more people are happy to see a working Assistance Dog than the amount of people who go out of their way to make us feel unwelcome. I still do get very nervous when going to a new place though, especially somewhere like a restaurant because there's no way to know if the staff are aware of the laws.

Here's an example of what Assistance Dog users deal with. http://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/artic..._newsphoto.html

Edited by Baby Dragon
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Yay :rofl: I was in a lovely cafe called Kelby's in Marrickville and saw they had a big sticker on their front door "Guide Dogs and owners welcome!" It was a delight to see!

I wonder how the blind go about spotting that sticker.... :rofl:

Yeah, I wondered that too after I posted. Maybe they have to be in the company of a "sighted" friend :)

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Yay :rofl: I was in a lovely cafe called Kelby's in Marrickville and saw they had a big sticker on their front door "Guide Dogs and owners welcome!" It was a delight to see!

I wonder how the blind go about spotting that sticker.... :rofl:

Yeah, I wondered that too after I posted. Maybe they have to be in the company of a "sighted" friend :)

I know you guys were joking, but just in case anyone is wondering... As I understand it, it's more to remind the staff and to explain the presence of a dog in the restaurant to other customers than for the benefit of the person with the Guide Dog :rofl: Also to show support for the Guide Dog organisations.

Also, following access denials of Guide Dog users at some restaurants, part of the settlement has been that they've had to put one of those stickers on their doors.

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I don't see why it should be a big deal....they're allowed anywhere or did I miss something?

Oh sas, why do you so often want to put a downer on things.

Let me give you a few :rofl::rofl::):rofl:

How's it a downer?

I don't see how it's a big deal....why don't you educate me as to why it is and then I would have learned something as I thought they were allowed everywhere.

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The law states that Guide dogs are to be allowed entry everywhere their human needs to go... sadly, this doesn't translate to other Assistance dogs - there are no laws to make them as "accepted" as Guide dogs in public areas.

That said - some establishments, and even some public transport, have been known to refuse entry to a Guide dog. Seen it myself...

T.

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The law states that Guide dogs are to be allowed entry everywhere their human needs to go... sadly, this doesn't translate to other Assistance dogs - there are no laws to make them as "accepted" as Guide dogs in public areas.

:rofl:

Yes there are... Guide Dogs and other types of Assistance Dogs are covered under the federal law... The Disability Discrimination Act 1992.

Some states have state laws that cover only Guide Dogs and Hearing Dogs and not other types of Assistance Dogs, but this is slowly changing... like in SA and QLD they have brought in/are bringing in state laws that also cover other types of Assistance Dogs. http://www.disability.qld.gov.au/key-proje...nce-guide-dogs/

At any rate, the federal law applies in all states. :rofl:

Edited by Baby Dragon
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Yay :rofl: I was in a lovely cafe called Kelby's in Marrickville and saw they had a big sticker on their front door "Guide Dogs and owners welcome!" It was a delight to see!

I wonder how the blind go about spotting that sticker.... :)

Legally blind does not meant that you can't see anything :p I know lots of people who are legally blind (I work doing specialised vision testing LOL) who can read better than "average"! They just have very restricted visual fields. So don't assume that just because someone is "blind" that they can't see (and yes that does make sense :rofl: )

Oh, and I often see a whippet wandering around the hospital with his owner :rofl: Nice to see other breeds being used as assistance dogs :rofl: And I saw a Guide Dog Goldy in harness the other day too :p

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I don't see why it should be a big deal....they're allowed anywhere or did I miss something?

Oh sas, why do you so often want to put a downer on things.

Let me give you a few :thumbsup::rofl::rofl::rofl:

How's it a downer?

I don't see how it's a big deal....why don't you educate me as to why it is and then I would have learned something as I thought they were allowed everywhere.

Okay, looks like the hugs didn't work. I have explained why it made me happy to see it and others have posted that Guide Dogs are allowed everywhere.

Just because it is legislated that Assistance Dogs have to be allowed everywhere doesn't mean that all establishments welcome them with open arms and food bowls. There has been quite a bit in the news of late about taxi drivers refusing to take Guide Dogs.

Can someone please post something that will restore the pleasure I was feeling when I started this thread :D :p

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