“4 USERS 4 DOGS” GUIDE DOG PILOT PROJECT PRESS CONFERENCE

As a milestone achievement, the “4 Users 4 Dogs” (4U4D) Guide Dog Pilot Project jointly organized by the Ebenezer School and Home for the Visually Impaired and the Hong Kong Society for the Blind (HKSB), introduced to the media the two guide dogs trained in the USA and their users at the Press Conference on 17 August 2012.

The visually impaired people in Hong Kong have not had the privilege of using guide dogs after the first two known guide dogs on record died in the mid-1970’s. Back to 2006, inspired by successful introduction of guide dogs in some Asian developed countries, the Ebenezer School and Home for the Visually Impaired considered it should be time to explore the feasibility of re-establishing guide dog service for the visually impaired in Hong Kong. Following the feasibility study which took several years, Ebenezer joined hands with the HKSB to organize the 4U4D Guide Dog Pilot Project with funding from the S K Yee Medical Foundation in March 2011. Mr Ian Cox, a world-renowned guide dog expert from Australia was invited, as the project consultant and we are grateful for his invaluable advice and assistance which has enabled the project to move ahead. We also work in collaboration with the newly set up Hong Kong Guide Dogs Association. We are privileged to be able to source guide dogs from the Guiding Eye for the Blind (GEB), a well-established guide dogs school in the USA. They also kindly undertake to provide the associated training for the selected visually impaired persons on how to use their matched guide dogs.

A guide dog, as an alternative mobility aid to the white cane, allows the visually impaired to walk more safely and freely. Hence, guide dogs must go through rigorous training in order to acquire the skills needed to guide a visually impaired person. Besides, matching with the right owners require expert skills and experience. The selection of the potential guide dog users was started in October 2011. The first two selected visually impaired persons were sent to the Guiding Eyes for the Blind (GEB) in New York, USA for matching and an intensive 26-day residential training programme in July 2012. GEB highly commended the performance of the two visually impaired persons and pledged staunch support for the development of the guide dog service in Hong Kong. 

Upon successful completion of the training programme, the two users returned to Hong Kong on 30 July with their matched guide dogs, Nana and Deanna. The teams then underwent another two weeks of local training.

Mr Ian Cox came all the way from Australia to conduct local training for the two teams. He is impressed with the outstanding performance of Nana and Deanna and the skills routinely demonstrated by the teams. He highly praised the people in Hong Kong for being so very receptive to the presence of guide dogs in public places. He appealed to the public not to distract, feed or touch a guide dog at work. He also showed appreciation of the public transport service providers, shops and supermarkets in Hong Kong for their support and accommodation.

The organizers wish that the pilot project could pave the way for future guide dog service development. Ms Amy Kwok Oi-ming, the Guide Dog Ambassador, made an appeal to the public for their support of the guide dogs in Hong Kong and treat them properly.

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