How a guide dog opened up a blind man's world

As the man in sunglasses walked into an MRT carriage with his large Labrador retriever, a little girl yelped at the sight of the duo and quickly brought her legs up onto the seat.

The girl’s mother quietly explained to her that the man needed a guide dog because he could not see. She also stopped her daughter from attempting to approach the dog. As the man and his dog alighted later the girl, no longer afraid, called out, “Uncle, take care!”

Such scenes suggest that awareness of the presence of guide dog teams – meaning guide dogs and their handlers – is increasing among members of the public, said Vanessa Loh, general manager of Guide Dogs Singapore (GDS).

“Compared to six years ago when we first got our first guide dog, the awareness level was way low. We know that the awareness has definitely increased a lot over the last three years because we have more guide dog teams now,” she told Yahoo News Singapore during a phone interview.

Gary Lim, 57, and his four-year-old Labrador Retriever Jordie are one of six guide dog teams in Singapore.

Lim, a facilitator with social enterprise Dialogue In The Dark said that he began losing his sight in his thirties, when he was diagnosed with glaucoma. Despite several operations, he became fully blind last April.

Two years ago, a friend from his church who noticed Lim was becoming blind helped sign him up for a mobility course run by Guide Dogs Singapore, which was then known as the Guide Dogs Association of the Blind. He was assessed on whether he was suitable to work with a guide dog, and Jordie was officially assigned to him on 5 May 2015.

According to Lim, a potential guide dog handler needs to already be competent with using a cane to get around. The assessor also needs to consider whether the character of each applicant and the dog complement one another.

It costs about S$45,000 to train and import a guide dog, and the amount is fully borne by GDS. The handler pays only for the dog’s upkeep.

Misconceptions

With only eight guide dog teams in Singapore (six were formed by GDS), guide dog teams remain an uncommon sight. Having done his fair share of explaining about what Jordie does, Lim listed a number of misconceptions that people have of guide dogs.

“People always think a guide dog will bite. Guide dogs don’t bite. They also fear just the look and the size of the dog,” he said.

This reporter witnessed one such situation firsthand while Lim was on a public bus heading towards Hougang. While Lim was seated near the door, with Jordie lying between his legs, an elderly woman who boarded the bus was startled at the sight of Jordie and began slowly inching towards the middle of the bus.

When this reporter assured the woman that the dog was a guide dog that would not bite, she said in Mandarin that she had been chased by a dog before and was scared of dogs. Under Singapore’s laws, a guide dog accompanying a blind person is allowed on public transport.

Lim admits that situations involving people who are afraid of dogs can get tricky, especially when waiting for lifts. “I’m not allowed to go into the lift because (people are scared) of dogs. And sometimes I have to wait a few rounds,” he said.

Lim continued, “Some people think a guide dog might poo or pee in their office. They’re not aware that a guide dog on harness will only poo or pee on command unless they have a bad stomach. Other than that, they only do it on command.”

Some have also voiced concerns that guide dogs may jump on chairs or tables at places such as restaurants, said Lim. Lim clarified, however, that guide dogs are “different” and are trained not to jump on furniture. Guide dogs are also trained not to bark and seldom do, even as a warning.

Members of the public should avoid touching or patting a guide dog, and refrain from offering it food as this may distract it from its tasks. A distracted guide dog may end up leading its owner in the wrong direction or cause him or her to become disoriented.

Lim recounts an occasion where a man tried to talk to him at the MRT station. The action distracted Jordie, causing him to move in a different direction which left Lim unable to find the escalator at the MRT.

The best thing to do if you encounter a guide dog team is to just ignore them, said Loh.

“If (members of the public) can’t resist the cuteness of the dog, they should only approach the handler when the team is at rest. But not when the team is on the move. The person should approach the handler and ask if it’s okay to pat the dog. Otherwise just ignore them,” she advised.

Despite these incidents, Lim says he considers himself “fortunate” and seldom encounters problems when going out in public with Jordie, adding that his predecessors encountered many more issues.

One of the first guide dog owners in Singapore, Cassandra Chiu, was known to be vocal about the unpleasant encounters she had with local businesses and documented these incidents online, such as when she was not allowed into places because of her guide dog.

According to GDS, there are over 500 establishments in Singapore that are guide dog friendly, including hotels, hospitals, malls and food and beverage establishments.

Although Lim says he encounters “resistance” at certain food and beverage outlets, he seldom gets flat out rejections.

“The most common response is, ‘Sorry ah, this place no dogs allowed’… I think dogs are not allowed in most places. So I have to explain that this is a guide dog and I’m blind. After this statement, it’s okay already,” he said.

Lim said he was only ever chased out of a restaurant once, when the owner of the eatery did not understand what a guide dog was. “He didn’t even notice that I was blind, probably. He wasn’t even interested to listen. He saw the dog and said ‘no dogs allowed’.”

Members of the public who are aware of the purpose of a guide dog can also act as advocates if they see guide dog teams encountering resistance. Loh said, “When our guide dog teams are facing challenges (entering) a place, say a restaurant, it helps when there’s a kind passerby who speaks up on behalf of the team.”

GDS regularly holds public outreach events to educate the public on how to better understand the visually impaired community and guide dog teams. The most recent event was a White Cane community day held on Saturday (30 September) at the Westgate mall.

Technology can’t replace companionship

Before he was paired with his guide dog, Lim relied on a white cane to get around, a process which made his movement slower.

He explained, “Using a white cane, I will need to move from landmark to landmark – which means every place I have to move (by) shoring against the wall, fence, kerb, pathway. With a guide dog, on open area I can manoeuvre because he can see one landmark to another without any guidance. I can move on open areas and he can direct me from one place to another. That’s a great advantage.”

Guide dogs are also trained in “intelligent disobedience” where they learn to make a judgement call in situations that may put their handler in danger.

Lim recalls one time when Jordie stopped him from walking into an open drain while he was in unfamiliar area. “There was an open drain but I was not aware… Before I could step into the open drain, he turned his head and blocked me… If he didnt stop me, I would have gone straight for it.”

Lim has learnt that whenever Jordie stops while walking, it means there is an obstacle in front of him that needs to be avoided.

Jordie is so familiar with Lim’s usual routes that it knows how to direct Lim to his neighbourhood general practitioner to collect his medicine. At home, Jordie even knows how to close the refrigerator door on command.

Even with new technology to aid visually impaired individuals – such as the talking watch Lim uses and an app which tells him which bus stop he is at whenever he is on the bus – Lim says there is no replacement for a guide dog.

“Besides guiding me, he’s also my companion…So any place where there’s nobody else, at least I have him as company,” said Lim.

He added, “It is a great blessing. It’s the best thing that happened to me since I got blinded.”

Note: This story has been updated to reflect the number of guide dog teams in Singapore. There are a total of eight guide dog teams in Singapore, and six were formed by GDS.

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