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By RNZ

Some guide dogs who get attacked by other dogs while on the job cannot recover their confidence and have to be retired.

Several guide dogs and their handlers have been attacked by roaming or out-of-control dogs in the past four weeks in Timaru, Papakura, Wellington and Auckland.

Blind Low Vision New Zealand said there are parts of South Auckland where it is no longer placing guide dogs because of the risk of attacks.

North Shore woman Chely is at risk of losing her guide dog after several encounters with out-of-control dogs left her working dog fearful and potentially unable to do its job properly.

Chely’s guide dog Sasha has become scared after experiencing aggressive behaviour from unrestrained dogs. On three separate occasions, unrestrained dogs have leapt at Sasha while she was in her harness.

Chely said guide dogs cannot defend themselves or get away when in the harness. “There’s nothing she can do.”

The labrador is now showing signs of anxiety and freezing or refusing to pass other dogs, and making unsafe decisions.

“She’s just become so anxious while in harness. Every time we come near a dog when she’s in harness, she’s just becoming so anxious she wants to move me away. She’s tried moving me into the road to make space for a dog, which is obviously unsafe for both of us.

“It’s horrible to see her confidence being derailed by something that is so preventable.”

Sasha is being assessed – where she won’t be in a harness and will not be able to be worked – but may need intensive training to solve the problem, and Chely has been forced to rely on her cane, which has cut her independence “in half” and left her feeling isolated.

“Sasha is my eyes, she’s everything to me, she’s my constant companion and I just love her to bits.

“She gets me out in the community, she’s how I get to work every day, she’s integral to the life I live as an independent person... and it’s going to be horrible.”

Chely had a simple message to other dog owners.

“Please consider putting your dog on a short leash when in public, especially on roads, and if you see a guide dog or other service dog, consider moving around and away and giving them space to work. Don’t allow your dog to distract the dog, because the guide dogs are our eyes and if they are distracted, they are not looking after their handler.”

Blind Low Vision NZ chief executive Andrea Midgen told Checkpoint recent attacks had resulted in injuries that required medical attention for dogs and their handlers.

She said these incidents had an impact on the safety of the community and the dogs themselves.

“It’s a bit of a double-whammy effect – the guide dogs can be so traumatised that they won’t work again, so that’s a huge investment to get the guide dog up to a level where they can work with a handler, and sometimes we can’t recover them, so they need to be retired.

“And then there is the impact on the person, and that is a huge loss of confidence to go out into the community and do the things they need to be doing every day.”

The cost of training and investing in a guide dog is about $175,000 through its life, Midgen said.

But she said the loss of that investment did not compare to the loss of independence to those who rely on guide dogs.

“They’re basically stuck in their home.”

– RNZ