People often justify refusing my Guide Dog access on the basis of potential fear of dogs. But how does it work when someone is scared & we’re sharing a space? Well it happened just now on the tube. As I boarded a person with a young child gasped “I’m scared of dogs!”
I had to get into my seat which meant Ava was stood near this person for about 30 seconds but I started talking very calmly. The person kept worriedly saying they were scared. “She is a highly trained dog, she will not jump or bark. I will move her as soon as I sit.”
I sat down & prepared to get Ava under my legs. I kept reassuring & explaining. “She will not do anything, she will not come up to you. If you ignore her she will ignore you. I am going to get her to lie down under my legs now. She is going to move very quickly in a moment”
The person gasped when I mentioned quick movement. So I explained “she is going to move quickly now but she is going under my legs she has to turn & go under to do this.” Ava then did the move under my legs. Immediately & calmly settled. Them: thank you. Me: no problem.