Guide dogs for the blind refused: “The public authorities must enforce the law”

Only two days ago, Timothée Adolphe, member of the French Paralympic athletics team, was denied access to his flight to Toulouse for a business trip. The cause ? The presence of his assistance dog, which EsayJet never agreed to take on board. This discrimination is only the visible part of a frequent phenomenon: testimonies on the refusal of guide dogs (in taxis, in restaurants, etc.) seem to be multiplying. A completely illegal reaction.

What does the law say about accompanying guide dogs?

Traveling with your guide dog is not a simple comfort but an assistance situation governed by law. Article 88 of Law No. 87-588 of July 30, 1987, amended by the Law of August 5, 2015, allows access for guide dogs and their handlers in all transport, places open to the public as well as those allowing a professional, training or educational activity, without overbilling.

Guide dogs in education, accompanied by foster families and/or guide dog trainers enjoy the same rights. In addition, the law of February 11, 2005 n° 2005-102 specifies in its article 53 that dogs accompanying disabled people, and whose owners justify the education of the animal, are exempted from wearing a muzzle. But this state of affairs does not change much. Refusals are frequent.

According to Bruno Gendron, president of the Federation of the Blind and Amblyopes of France contacted by Doctissimo, people accompanied by a guide dog are very often obliged at least to remind the law, (they often have the text of the law on them ) but often face incivility, even sometimes aggression. “But filing a complaint remains complicated, especially on taxis and VTC since the person, by definition, sees neither the driver nor the plate” rhe calls. Blind people are therefore often helpless.

Awareness of assistance dogs seems necessary

What are the arguments of these professionals who refuse dogs? Bruno Gendron evokes a lack of knowledge and awareness of the problem: “These are often postures of principle, like a dog that would not be welcome in a food store. For transport, it’s more the fear of dirt on the seats”.

However, the reaction very often expresses a confusion made between pet and assistance dog, essential in the event of handicap: “A guide dog does not get on the bench seat, he is trained to go in the trunk! What these people forget is that these assistance dogs are trained for 18 months during which they are taught all the rules of etiquette. There is a whole set of very established rules and orders for living well together”. No risk of damage, in this case.

A call for living well together is launched

The refusal therefore does not hold. Violence is all the more illegal. For the Federation whose motto is “citizenship is up to us”, iIt is essential to remember that beyond the law, it is the exercise of citizenship that is part of all acts of life.

For Bruno Gendron, the public authorities must enter the dance and thus enforce the law. In a press release dated March 30, he asks Geneviève Darrieussecq, Minister Delegate in charge of Disabled People, “to ensure that these behaviors are repressed in the name of the law and of living well together”. Living together and independence that pass for blind people through this indispensable four-legged companion.

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