Dirty dogs not welcome. But who is dirtier?
People who use guide dogs, for example, because they are visually impaired or have epilepsy are often denied access to taxis and other forms of public transport as well as shops, restaurants and so on. This is discrimination.
Hygiene reasons are a frequent argument for refusing guide dogs. Dogs and their dirty paws are not welcome. But are those paws really that dirty?
Turns out that the soles of the shoes of their owners are much dirtier. Guide dog paws are actually pretty clean relative to the shoes of you and me and just about anyone else. So the hygiene argument is nonsense. You won’t endanger anyone by accepting a guide dog into your taxi or shop.
https://www.uu.nl/en/news/paw-hygiene-no-reason-to-ban-assistance-dogs-from-hospitals
“The general hygiene of dogs’ paws is far better than that of shoe soles…”
Vos SJ, Wijnker JJ, Overgaauw PAM. A pilot study on the contamination of assistance dogs’ paws and their users’ shoe soles in relation to admittance to hospitals and (in)visible disability. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health. 2021; 18(2): 513.
Full text: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/2/513
https://nos.nl/artikel/2459817-te-groot-en-vies-in-veel-gevallen-mag-de-hulphond-niet-mee-zegt-kngf
Angelina Souren : 🇳🇱 🇺🇸 🇬🇧 Critical thinker / rights advocate and scientific researcher. 