Visually Impaired Man Demos How Guide Dog Helps Him Board S’pore Bus Safely

Guide Dog Helps Man Board Bus & Find Seat, Then Sits Under His Legs

While animals are generally not allowed on Singapore’s public transportation, an exception is made for guide dogs accompanying visually handicapped commuters.

Even so, the sight of them may not be very common. To help people understand the importance of a guide dog, a visually impaired man showed how his canine helped him board a bus safely and find a seat.

Demo part of outreach talk organised by SBS Transit

A video of how the guide dog helped the man board the bus was posted by Guide Dogs Singapore Ltd on Facebook on 18 Jan.

The post has since gained more than 1,000 shares and 8,400 likes.

The demo was part of an outreach talk organised by SBS Transit and conducted by the group to promote safety and graciousness on public transport.

During the discussion with students from Pathlight School, they talked about ways to support the visually impaired on public transport. Among the topics they highlighted was proper etiquette when encountering guide dogs in public.

Guide dog helps man board bus by stepping in first

In the demo, Gary, a visually impaired man, showed how he boarded a bus with his guide dog, Matt.

First, Matt stepped into the bus ahead of Gary.

This is so that Gary can gauge roughly where the step is and how high it is.

Guide dog helps man find seat after he boards bus

After Gary boards the bus, Matt’s job doesn’t end there.

Gary still needs help to find a seat, so he asks Matt: “Go find the seat.”

The clever dog then finds an empty seat and guides Gary right to it.

Guide dog stays under man’s legs after he sits

After Gary sits down, there’s the question of where the dog will go.

Gary demonstrates that he would normally take the leash and pass it under his legs, asking Matt to go under them too.

Following instructions, Matt crawls under Gary’s legs and stays there for the trip, not posing a disturbance to other passengers at all.

Netizens praise guide dog

Netizens who watched the video were full of praise for Matt, marvelling at what a good and well-behaved boy he is.

Some said the information regarding guide dogs in the video was new to them.

Perhaps building on this point, other commenters called for such information to be conveyed to the wider public. They feel that more people should know that service dogs are highly trained and won’t attack.

Since such dogs are “at work” while out and about with their owner, strangers should not disturb the canines.

If you’re impressed by the skills of Matt and other guide dogs like him, do consider helping to raise more of them by donating to Guide Dogs Singapore via their Giving.sg page.

Otherwise, you may also help by giving a seat to a visually impaired person and their dog when they board a bus or train and refrain from disturbing the animal.

Also read: Blind S’porean With Guide Dog Blocked From Boarding Bus, But Kind Driver Found Them A Seat

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Featured image adapted from Guide Dogs Singapore Ltd on Facebook.