First Hong Kong-born guide dogs set to help meet huge demand from the visually impaired

With an increasing number of visually impaired people waiting for guide dogs, the city finally has its first locally born canines – four female Labrador puppies.

Guide dog trainers say this is only the first step towards the localisation of seeing eye dogs. They hope the government can provide more support for trainers and breeders so those in need – currently around 1,700 out of 170,000 visually impaired people – can benefit from the service as soon as possible.

There are only about 30 guide dogs in Hong Kong at the moment – all from overseas. They come mainly from Japan, Taiwan, the UK and the United States.

The four puppies, born on March 21, still do not have names. The Hong Kong Seeing Eye Dog Services, the centre that owns the canines, said charitable companies or individuals were welcome to donate a minimum of HK$50,000 to name the puppies, but the names should all start with the letter “H”, meaning they are rooted in Hong Kong.

Naming rights will go to the four companies or individuals offering the biggest donations.

So far, the centre is using four ribbons – red, blue, yellow and purple – to identify the puppies. Staff members for the time being call them by the colour of their ribbons.

“It is important that we have our own guide dogs,” said centre chairman Raymond Cheung Wai-man. “Hong Kong’s environment, traffic and public facilities are very different from those in other places, so local dogs can provide better help to the visually impaired.”