Paralympian with visual impairment, Sophie Soon, and her guide dog were recently delayed entrance into a cafe and were later told to sit outdoors

This was despite laws allowing such working dogs — differentiated from regular pets — to enter F&B premises

A law expert explained that the law ultimately gives restaurant operators the prerogative to allow such guide dogs onto their premises or otherwise

F&B businesses who spoke to TODAY, though wanting to be inclusive, cited reasons that may make it challenging to allow guide dogs on their premises

 After queuing for some time at a fast food restaurant with a group of friends one day, Mr Chia Hong Sen found himself denied service at the counter. The reason: He was accompanied by a guide dog, which helps people with visual impairment like him get around independently.

Despite Mr Chia and his friends explaining that such dogs are not prohibited from entering food establishments under the law, and other customers stepping in to plead on their behalf, the employees maintained that “it’s a dog, and dogs are pets”.

“The staff were resolute about this. It was rather late, we were hungry, so we ended up leaving to find dinner somewhere else,” said Mr Chia on Sunday (March 12).

Guide dog users say they face such issues frequently. Just earlier this week, visually impaired Paralympic swimmer Sophie Soon was involved in a confrontation with a Rocky Master employee when she, her guide dog and her mother went to the halal-certified cafe.

Ms Soon said in a video posted on social media that they had to wait for half an hour before they were allowed to sit at the outdoor area.

Guide Dogs Singapore (GDS), a social service organisation that serves the vision-impaired community in Singapore, acknowledged that it is the prerogative of such establishments on who they would let into their premises.

“The bigger issue of the challenges our guide dog users face is that it hinders inclusivity and progress for the visually impaired community,” the organisation said in response to TODAY’s queries.

“It goes against empowering them to lead an active lifestyle to increase social interaction for visually impaired persons and allow them to re-integrate into society, breaking down barriers and normalising the interaction between visually impaired persons and sighted individuals."

WHAT THE LAW ACTUALLY SAYS

Legal expert from the Singapore Management University (SMU) Benjamin Joshua Ong said that guide dogs are allowed in food establishments, but they are not compelled to let the dogs in.

This is based on section 29 of the Environmental Public Health (Food Hygiene) Regulations, which generally do not permit a “live animal” in a food establishment, but grants an exception such that these places “may permit a guide dog accompanying a blind or visually impaired person” to be brought in.

The law stipulates that the guide dog must be “kept under proper control; restrained from straying or causing annoyance or nuisance to any person or animal, or damage to any property; and held in a leash”.

Assistant Professor Ong added: “The words ‘may permit’ means that the licensee (the operator) may, but need not, permit guide dogs.”

Due to religious reasons, Muslims generally avoid touching dogs as they are required to perform a ritual cleansing on parts that come into contact with the animal.

However, the Islamic Religious Council of Singapore (Muis) has released an irsyad, or religious guidance, that such cleansing is not compulsory if a person comes into contact with dogs kept out of necessity, such as guide dogs.

A clause under the Muis halal certification scheme stipulates conditions similar to that of the national food hygiene regulations, with the addition that such guide dogs shall “not be fed within the food establishment, unless it is a pet cafe”.

RESTAURANTS SUPPORTIVE, BUT EXPLAIN CHALLENGES WELCOMING GUIDE DOGS

Four food establishments who spoke to TODAY on Sunday, including those selling halal food, all said they welcome people who are accompanied by guide dogs to patronise their restaurants.

However, they pointed out that it would be challenging to juggle this with the comfort and needs of other patrons as well.

Mr Stephane Colleoni, owner of Italian fine dining restaurant Oso Ristorante, said: “If anybody complains about a guide dog, I will tell them (complainants) we are very happy not to have them.”

Asked why he thinks some diners or other establishments seem to be against having guide dogs in restaurants, Mr Colleoni said it could be due to a lack of empathy.

“They do not put themselves in the shoes of the visually impaired,” he said.

However, he added that he would check with diners on the off-chance that they had valid reasons not to be able to sit near a guide dog — such as allergies — and would make the appropriate seating arrangements.

Ms Anna Lim, executive director of halal-certified chain Soup Spoon, said that guide dogs are “allowed, always” into its restaurants, noting the exemptions given by the authorities and Muis.

“The challenge is always when the space is small and there may not be any space for the guide dog to rest, or it can be inconvenient to other diners who may be afraid of dogs,” she said.

“The best way to handle it is always to sit them away from the rest of the guests or diners if the space is big.”

Mr Na’im Zahari, the managing partner of casual dining restaurant Daddy's On Madras, said that sometimes while a restaurant’s management might be welcoming of guide dogs, “the ground staff do what they think is best to ensure comfort of other patrons”.

His restaurant would happily allow diners with guide dogs to dine at the alfresco area, stressing that it has “nothing to do with religion” although his restaurant serves halal food.

Notwithstanding the fact that guide dogs are specially selected for their mild temperament and undergo special training, he said that “most patrons still wouldn’t be comfortable” having a dog in the restaurant.

“If they were, then we’d be okay, too,” he said.

A spokesperson from GDS said: “We observe that such incidents could happen because ground staff might be unaware of the legislation or company’s policy, or might not have the confidence in managing complaints from other patrons and prefer to err on the side of caution as they are afraid of doing the ‘wrong thing’.”

Mr Chia said that members of the public are usually empathetic and even willing to help when they see a visually impaired person with a walking cane.

But he believes that when a visually impaired person walks around with a guide dog, onlookers might be distracted by the sight of the dog and their minds would drift to stereotypes of dog behaviours.

Due to the fact that guide dogs are not common in Singapore, “public exposure might not be high”, compounding this issue, he added.

Since it was formed in 2006, GDS has been responsible for successfully training and pairing only 11 guide dog teams, of which six are currently active, according to the organisation.

TOWARDS A MORE INCLUSIVE SOCIETY

GDS and food establishment owners agreed that more education is needed to address the issue.

“Policies and systems are implemented by people and if attitudes and mindsets change, everything else will follow,” said the GDS spokesperson.

For a start, encouraging businesses to display signs that guide dogs are allowed in their premises can make access easier and empower ground staff with confidence, the organisation said.

GDS added that it can support businesses that would like to train its staff members "on the vision impaired community, information on guide dogs and how to assist not just guide dog users but also other vision impaired persons".

Ms Soon, for one, has taken down videos of the incident involving Rocky Master, and uploaded a new one on Sunday where she mentioned plans to post "more positive content" to raise awareness on the issue.

Mr Chia said that ultimately, as guide dog handlers, they are no different from everyone else — all they want is to live a normal life and contribute to society.

“It’s just that when it comes to mobility, we work with our partners, who happen to be these really special, super well-trained dogs with their floppy ears and waggy tails, to make travelling around a little easier for us, in this very visual world,” he said.

Source:
courtesy of TODAY

by TAUFIQ ZALIZAN

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