Guide dogs bring confidence to blind Hong Kong owners
Newly trained Hongkongers take to the city's streets with their new four-legged friends
Two blind Hongkongers described a newfound sense of fun and confidence in walking the city's streets after taking custody of two guide dogs, bringing to six the total number of such animals in the city.
Labradors Nera and Rally, both aged two, arrived last month along with their users, Andy Chan Kam-chau and Trada Ip Man-yi, after they finished a 26-day training course in the United States.
They were the second and final pair of dogs to be funded as part of a HK$719,000 pilot project by the Ebenezer School and Home for the Visually Impaired and the Hong Kong Society for the Blind.
Two other dogs funded by the scheme arrived last year. Two others have been introduced in a separate scheme.
Chan and Ip, who both lost their sight to glaucoma, said the dogs changed their lives and gave them psychological comfort.
"For me, it's the speed that I haven't experienced before," said Chan, in his 40s. "Nera walks very fast and can take me walking between people. There's more fun in going out."
He previously had to use a white cane, and occasionally hit people with it by accident. "Sometimes people would be really unfriendly when you hit them," he said. So to avoid incidents, he would often choose to walk on the side of the street.