Assistance dogs in Singapore see job scope, access to places expand

SINGAPORE – Besides seeing-eye dogs, there will soon be more assistance dogs in Singapore to support those who are deaf, autistic or have physical disabilities.

To ensure these working canines help their companions with special needs overcome some of their daily challenges, more access will be extended to them in public housing, public transport and food places.

Guide dogs trained to lead the blind or visually impaired are currently allowed in such places, but access will also be extended to assistance dogs that support persons with other disabilities.

Assistance dogs matched to persons with disabilities living in Housing Board flats by charity organisation K9Assistance can also live with their handlers in the flats, Senior Parliamentary Secretary for Culture, Community and Youth Eric Chua announced on June 28.

“Agencies such as the Land Transport Authority and the Singapore Food Agency are also working out the necessary details to allow such assistance dogs on public transport and licensed food establishment,” he added.

“Muis will revise its 2019 (guidance) on guide dogs to encompass assistance dogs supporting persons with physical disabilities, visual impairment and the deaf and hard of hearing,” Mr Chua said, speaking at the K9Assistance Partners Appreciation Breakfast attended by more than 80 representatives from government, diplomatic, social services and business communities.

A spokesman from Muis told The Straits Times that its advice regarding guide dogs is still being refined and will be ready “in the coming months”.

There are currently nine active working assistance dogs in Singapore, all of which are guide dogs for the blind. Eight of the nine are trained and paired by Guide Dogs Singapore.

The first guide dog was brought into Singapore from Australia in 1982. However, due to the lack of public support and facilities then, the dog had to be returned.

The door was opened for guide dogs here only in 2005, when blind businessman Kua Cheng Hock, now 68, brought his guide dog Kendra into Singapore, and received help from MPs and government agencies he approached. (The Labrador, which was born and trained in California, died of a heart attack in 2014, aged 11.)

K9Assistance, a registered charity founded in April 2020, has been working with the Government to give these assistance dogs and their owners access into more public spaces.

Its executive director Cassandra Chiu, who lost her sight at the age of eight due to a rare genetic eye disease, said the benefits “should not just remain within the blind community”.

“As a disabled person, I hope other types of disabilities could also benefit from these tremendous life changing benefits ... and I think that’s why it’s so important that we have the support from stakeholders and the different segments of the community,” she said.

Elke (left) is one of nine seeing-eye dogs in Singapore. With her is the Republic’s first Ambassador Assistance Dog, Sienna. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

“K9Assistance had been working very hard over the last couple of years to get the different levels of support from businesses and from members of the public.”

Over 50 business across the different industries have pledged their support in welcoming assistance dog teams onto their premises and to educate frontline staff and customers.

Singapore’s approach to disability inclusion is guided by its Enabling Masterplan and to enable those with disabilities to live independently.

Mr Chua noted that physical and social environments are being changed to be more inclusive of persons with disabilities. This includes improving accessibility of public spaces and buildings, enhancing public transport infrastructure to help them navigate independently, and educating the general public on disability to encourage more positive mindsets and attitudes.

Persons with disabilities’ access to community activities, such as mainstream sports, recreation and social activities; and resources are through Enabling Services Hubs, the first of which was launched in August 2023. “SG Enable... will be launching two more in 2025,” he added.

Sienna, Singapore’s first ambassador assistance dog, retrieving a mobile phone that had fallen out of trainer Paul Adrian’s pocket. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY

Like her predecessor Kendra, Sienna, Singapore’s first ambassador assistance dog, is also paving the way for canines helping people – this time, with special needs other than blindness.

She made her debut at the June 28 event, demonstrating how an assistance dog would help those living with different disabilities.

For instance, when an autistic person suffers a meltdown, as demonstrated by the stamping of feet, Sienna would approach and place a paw on his lap, calming him down.

And if a hearing impaired handler were to drop his mobile phone without realising it, Sienna would retrieve the device and nudging it into his hand.

Ahead of the phased changes, K9Assistance will step up its engagement with businesses and the public through campaigns targeting various sectors and communities.

The charity will also raise funds for the training of assistance dogs before they can be brought into Singapore and placed with disabled handlers at no cost.