Five guide and assistance dogs with their owners, including Claire Graham and Ulli from Heyshott-based Canine Partners, travelled to Downing Street to campaign against the discrimination they face from service providers, despite the Disability Discrimination Act.
Canine Partners, Dogs for the Disabled, Guide Dogs, Hearing Dogs and Support Dogs are working together as Assistance Dogs UK (ADUK) to promote rights of access to restaurants, shops and other services for assistance dog users.
This is the Year of
the Assistance Dog, and the delegation met Phil Hope, minister for the third sector, to give personal accounts of the problems they face when attempting to travel by taxis, or use services and amenities.
During the visit, Mr Hope was presented with Dog Star Awards on behalf of Downing Street and the Cabinet Office, in recognition of the accessibility for guide and assistance dog users.
In coming months, assistance dog users will nominate retailers, leisure facilities, public premises, and transport operators for similar Dog Star awards, giving service providers an incentive to make their premises assistance dog friendly.
The awards will be symbols of excellence, in recognition that premises and services meet the needs of all assistance dog users – provision of Braille menus for blind and partially-sighted people, induction loops for customers with hearing impairment, wheelchair access and, of course, water bowls for the assistance dogs.
For further information, and links to ADUK member charity websites, where Dog Star nominations can be made, click here www.assistancedogs.org.uk
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