Woof

Yesterday afternoon I had the pleasure of carrying a blind woman and her guide dog home from work. It was the dog's eleventh birthday and she happily agreed to my taking a few snaps.

What wasn't so pleasing was hearing that due to the dog she is regularly rejected by around 20% of cabbies. The common excuse being, "it's against the law to carry dogs." This despite her evident impairment and the dog's harness.

I asked her if the refusals came from any particular group of cabbies, referring to reports some Muslim drivers refuse on religious grounds, "Aw, I don't want to specify any particular race," she said, "but it seems to be all sorts of drivers who refuse. I come from up the Coast and none of those drivers refuse. It's just down here it happens."

It's pathetic, really, as the dogs are trained to sit quietly on the floor and only rise on command. Sounds like it's time for a publicity campaign reminding all cabbies of the law pertaining to guide dogs. Or an investigative reporter to get on the case.

Comments

[Skyring]

In taxi school, we were told repeatedly that guide dogs were fine.

Blind folk find difficulty in many everyday things, not least just getting around town. Making things harder for them is just contemptible.

We cabbies have a definite public service role to play, and I relish the chance to help out. It's the diversity that keeps this job interesting for me.

[Carnavore]

I think there needs to be an undercover sting on cabbies refusing to take guide dogs and start suspending some cabbie licences. The sad thing is the blind can't take down number plates of offending drivers, which obviously these drivers rely on.

If it's a case of religion, then the cabbie is in the wrong industry. The Blind never choose to be in their position and I think that those of us fortunate enough to have all our senses working perfectly should do what we can to assist them.

Karma has a funny way of coming back to haunt those who treat fellow humans poorly.

[Another Adrian]

An eleven year old working guide dog? Wow! I thought they were mostly retired by eight or so. It's fantastic to see a guide dog still going at that age.

Talking about older guide dogs, it's sad enough to see your pet dog start to age. Even though the dog is still alert and active, you know deep down that it won't keep going for ever. That's bad enough for a pet; I can't imagine how terrible it must be to have to let a friend, mobility aide and ever-present companion leave your life, particularly when you're so dependant on him/her.

Oh yeah, fabulous photos, Adrian!

[Brisvegas yellow]

Up here in Brisbane it is an offence for a driver to refuse anybody with an animal( not just guide dogs) trained to assist them. If a driver is found to have refused a passenger with an assistance animal, they face instant removal of their licence to ply for hire with the company.Is it not the same in N.S.W???
As for a blind person not knowing what driver has refused them, they are about to start placing raised lettering in braile near the passenger door handle on all yellow taxis so a blind person can at least know the car number he/she is in.

[Brisvegas yellow]

Up here in Brisbane it is an offence for a driver to refuse anybody with an animal( not just guide dogs) trained to assist them. If a driver is found to have refused a passenger with an assistance animal, they face instant removal of their licence to ply for hire with the company.Is it not the same in N.S.W???
As for a blind person not knowing what driver has refused them, they are about to start placing raised lettering in braile near the passenger door handle on all yellow taxis so a blind person can at least know the car number he/she is in.

[John]

Here in Dublin it is an offence to refuse anyone with a working dog. I suppose that would apply to a sniffer dog too!
There are an awful lot of assholes driving taxis.

[Goldstein]

Awful lot of them catching taxis too, John...

[Animal Right]

WOW, that is unbelievable. You should call the Guide Dogs Association of NSW so they can take this up. It is unacceptable to miss treat other beings(human and animals).
Perhaps even start a group call Guide Dogs welcome cabbie??

[Goldstein]

Let's not get carried away -I have never, ever been hailed or booked to pick up a "blind" person, with or without dog.. It's not like 1 in every 2 passengers is "visually challenged" !

It must be a very few drivers who refuse the guide dog -as it is only a few drivers that refuse a black/muslim/jewish/gay/fat/old passenger -after all, fares = money -the name of the game is carrying whoever for money..

I reckon the community should be thanking its drivers, given all the roles drivers have to fill -not just driving A to B but acting as therapist, counsellor, comedian, lackey, whipping boy for some of the, frankly, wierd passengers you get at times..

People are a piece of work, for sure..

[russell]

A few years ago I caught a cab in Canberra. About 500 metres into the journey the cabbie exclaimed 'Bastard!!!' and started to laugh. To my enquiry he responded 'that bloody dog got me again. It was a brand new packet of lollies - I'd only had one or two, and now there's none left!!' Much laughter from both of us when he told me he had a habit of putting his lollies on the console next to him and his last fare was a regular blind customer and her guide dog. How the dog managed to get the lollies out of the packet without any telltale rustling is amazing and anybody's guess.