Dispute with cafe over guide dog casts spotlight on issue

Guide dog users often face rejection when dining out or booking rides, says charity

- Anjali Raguraman

While waiting to take the lift at an HDB block in Bedok, Mr Alvin Ng was told to wait for the next lift by a member of the public, as he had his guide dog with him.

On several other occasions, when the retiree in his 50s was dining out with his guide dog, he was asked to sit outdoors.

In a Facebook post on Sunday, Mr Ng said: "Once, the waiting staff (at a restaurant) led me to an outside dining area... It was noon and the temperature was high. It was hot for me, so it must (have been) terrible for my dog. I walked away.

"Another time, I had to leave my half-eaten food and run for cover when it rained suddenly... the place (was) covered, but not enough to shield the diners from heavy rain," he said, adding that on both occasions, there were still available seats inside the restaurants.

"It's either you dine outside or you bring your business somewhere else," he said.

"Am I not a paying customer? How about my feelings? Does using a guide dog make me a lesser human being?"

A guide dog user since 2012, Mr Ng was sharing his experiences in response to an incident on March 8, when Paralympic swimmer Sophie Soon, who is visually impaired, confronted a Rocky Master employee in Hougang 1 mall over her guide dog.

Ms Soon claimed the employee at the halal-certified cafe wanted her to agree to three conditions before allowing her to dine in: Her dog must be leashed, it must not be fed, and customers must not complain about the dog.