This week saw the fifth anniversary of one of the worst terrorist attacks in London’s history, the 7/7 bombings on 7th July 2005. The bombings left thousands in confusion and terror as London’s underground system was targeted, but one man found it all the more frightening due to the fact that he was blind. Dr Michael Townsend was caught up in the only explosion that day to happen above ground, when a bomb went off (seemingly by accident) on a London bus in Tavistock square.

Mr Townsend was caught up in the aftermath of that explosion, and wouldn’t have known where to turn had it not been for his trusty guide dog, Tom. Mr Townsend’s own Tom Tom guided him to safety, amid all of the confusion of that terrible day, with people running in all directions and emergency services attending the scene.

As reported in the Sun this week, Dr Michael Townsend explains the events in (more…)

Straight from the archives entitled ‘you couldn’t make it up’, a female friend of a blind man in Australia asked if he could bring his guide dog into a restaurant, but the staff misheard her, thinking she’d said ‘gay dog’. Not wanting any homosexual dogs in their restaurant, they turned her away!

57 year old Ian Jolly, his female friend and his guide dog, ‘Nudge’, wanted to enter the restaurant that served Thai food, in Adelaide last year. However, a misunderstanding on behalf of staff at the restaurant led them to believe that Nudge was in fact gay; and they turned the trio away.

The restaurant has now been taken to an equal opportunities tribunal, where its owners defended their employee’s actions by stating:

The staff genuinely believed that Nudge was an ordinary pet dog which had been desexed to become a gay dog.

The restaurant has refused to give any comment to the press in Australia, but they do display a sign stating that guide dogs (more…)

A guide dog was prevented from boarding an Australian budget airline in a move which may have damaged the reputation of the firm internationally. Employees at Jetstar told a blind couple not to take the guide dog onboard. The decision, which seemed to go against the firm’s own policy, has caused a great deal of upset.

The incident was reported in The Daily Telegraph and happened in the city of Melbourne. Glen Bracegirdle and Kathryn Beaton were going through the usual security checks when Jetstar staff told Kathryn she (more…)