Attacks on guide dogs hit new high, says charity

Attacks on guide dogs by other dogs have reached a new high of more than eight a month, a charity has said.

Guide Dogs, which campaigns for blind and partially sighted people, said police should be able to treat an attack on an assistance dog "like an attack on a person".

It also called for the introduction of compulsory microchipping for all dogs.

The government is consulting on ways to tackle dangerous dogs and said microchipping was being considered.

The charity said attacks had risen consistently in recent years, and the latest figure was up from seven a month in September 2011.

Campaign manager David Cowdrey said: "An attack on any dog is frightening, but for a guide dog owner it is much worse.

"As well as physical injuries, each dog attack leaves a deep psychological scar for both the owner and the guide dog.

"In the worst cases guide dogs have to be retired early; in others they are left unable to work for a significant amount of time."

He added: "Ultimately, we want [police] to be given the power to treat an attack on a guide dog or any other assistance dog like an attack on a person."

Continued:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18386963

Blind Muslim student uses guide horse instead of dog

A blind Muslim woman has used her three-year savings to pay for a miniature horse to help her get about.

Mona Ramouni’s religious parents would not allow her to bring a guide dog into the family house as they consider the animal to be unclean.

So instead, the 28-year-old saved up for three years and bought Cali – a tiny horse who stands at around 2ft 6in and has been trained to help her owner out of vehicles, guide her through crowds as well as standing patiently indoors.

The psychology student found the miniature horse after coming across a website about guide horses in April 2008 and claims since welcoming Cali into her home in Dearborn in Michogan, her life has been transformed

She is an awesome little horse. What I really want is to be able to take her places neither of us would have been able to go without each other,' Ms Ramouni said.

‘Before Cali, I had given up. I got to the point where I thought, “I'm going to get nothing out of my life" Cali has given me the confidence back I used to have as a kid.’

Ms Ramouni lost her sight shortly after birth after being born three months premature.

The 28-year-old, who works as a proofreader of Braille textbooks, is one of only five people in the US who currently has a guide horse.

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/847152-blind-muslim-student-uses-guide-horse-instead-of-dog#ixzz15IUgabjO

Four legs and a cool head in the midst of 7/7 chaos

Click to enlarge

http://e-edition.metro.co.uk/2010/07/07/ - p11.

Restaurant fined for 'gay' guide dog ban

Monday, April 26 2010, 12:47 BST
By Mayer Nissim, Entertainment Reporter

A restaurant in Australia has been banned after banning a blind man from entering the premises with a "gay" guide dog.

Ian Jolly, 57 of Woodville North, was barred from restaurant Thai Spice in May 2009, the Adelaide Sunday Mail reports.

Restaurant owners Hong Hoa Thi To and Anh Hoang Le gave a statement to an equal opportunity tribunal stating that they thought Jolly's partner Chris Lawrence said that "she wanted to bring a gay dog into the restaurant".

"The staff genuinely believed that Nudge was an ordinary pet dog which had been desexed to become a gay dog," the statement continued.

Despite the restaurant displaying a "guide dogs welcome" sign, Jolly and Lawrence were refused entry to the Grange eatery with the canine.

At the tribunal conciliation hearing the restaurant agreed to attend an equal opportunity course, issue Jolly a written apology and pay him the sum of AU$1,500 (£970) in compensation.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/odd/news/a216557/restaurant-fined-for-gay-guide-dog-ban.html