Everyone comes from different backgrounds and circumstances, and sometimes, all you need is a greater awareness and sensitivity towards others. In a Facebook post put up yesterday morning that’s since gone viral, one netizen shared how her experience boarding the bus with her guide dog went from negative to positive.
Cassandra Chiu suffers from Stargardt disease, a genetic macular degeneration that causes progressive vision loss, so she uses an assistant dog to help her with her daily tasks. However, an incident that occurred yesterday morning when she was at the bus stop outside Lucky Plaza with her daughter and her guide dog Elke spurred her to share it on her Facebook page, which she updates with snippets from her day-to-day life to educate the public on service dogs and how they aid disabled people.
Chiu shared that a passenger had rudely objected to Elke being on bus service 123, even continuing to do so after she was told Elke was a guide dog. While animals are not permitted on buses and trains, guide dogs accompanying visually handicapped commuters are allowed.
Fortunately, Chiu was eventually able to get on the bus, and the driver got up to ask a volunteer to give up their seat for her and Elke. She ended off by urging Singaporeans to do more to help the disabled to have equal opportunities.
The post caused quite a stir online, with many netizens criticizing the passenger for objecting to Elke being on the bus, while others commended Chiu for shedding light on the value of guide dogs.
Heartened by the support, she explained that while this sort of situations happen rather often to her, she wanted to urge fellow Singaporeans to “extend this goodwill to everyone” to create a place for all people in society.
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