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National World - Other Local Sites
  • 24/04/2024
International Guide Dog Day
Transcript
00:00I like nothing more than to talk about Maisie, but it has to be at the right time,
00:05both for myself and also for Maisie.
00:08For me, it's letting people know that guide dogs are working dogs.
00:12I've had a few people that have come up to me and said,
00:15I know I'm not meant to pet the guide dog.
00:17People say to me, he's cute, he's handsome, he's good looking,
00:20and everybody wants to say hello to the lovely, cute guide dog.
00:23Even if we're in a coffee shop and Maisie's settled,
00:27someone will come and say, I know I shouldn't,
00:30but even in circumstances where the dogs are tarnished,
00:34we don't distract the dog.
00:36We have enough to deal with, like cars parked on pavements.
00:40We purely need the cooperation of the members of the public
00:43so that our dogs can navigate the streets safely.
00:48People will just come up to you in the most inopportune moments.
00:52You're trying to get onto a bus, you're trying to go upstairs or downstairs.
00:56Worse still, you're crossing the road and somebody says,
00:59oh, your dog's beautiful, and they start stroking your dog in the middle of the road.
01:03It puts me in an awkward position because I have to say to them,
01:06sorry, do you mind not petting him?
01:08And it's not that we're trying to be offensive, it's just when Mickey's working,
01:13it takes all his energy just to remain calm and focused
01:16and listen to my commands and get me from A to B.
01:19So many people think that we can say to our dogs,
01:22hit me a test code and they'll do it.
01:24The idea is that we're a partnership and that we tell the dog
01:27when to go left or right, when to cross the roads.
01:30Their job is to keep us safe, to stop us walking into things, tripping over things.
01:35You know, if you're driving with somebody in a car,
01:37you wouldn't touch their steering wheel, you wouldn't distract them in a car.
01:40So that's kind of me and Mickey, he's the steering wheel.
01:43I still have to give him the directions.
01:45I actually had somebody bend down and actually show my dog Google Maps
01:50instead of talking to me and it was like, my dog's clever but he's not that clever.
01:55It's beyond belief, the freedom I have had with Maisie has been incredible,
02:00but that has to be worked on. It's an ongoing partnership.
02:04If I'd been a police dog handler, nobody had come near my dog.
02:08I'd much rather you ask me and we can do it together and then we're safe.
02:14Because distracting us is not safe, really not.
02:18When he's off his harness and off the lead, he is a dog and he loves getting pets
02:23and that's the time and place for it, not when we're out walking.
02:26If you see a guide dog owner, don't be afraid to go up to them and offer help.
02:31There are times when we would be more than happy to receive any sort of assistance.
02:36There's a lot of volunteering activities or fundraising,
02:40that's the real way to help Mickey and me as a user.
02:43He's my eyes and you waving your hand in front of him or stroking him,
02:48saying what a wonderful dog, it could take us several minutes to get that back.
02:52Just ask, we'd really appreciate that.
02:55Wouldn't we? Yes we would, yes.

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