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Canberra Today 14°/19° | Friday, March 29, 2024 | Digital Edition | Crossword & Sudoku

Young women rescue guide dog from attackers

IN a Civic crowd, only two young females helped pull a couple off-lead dogs from a blind woman’s guide dog in Civic last week. 

Guide Dog
Guide dogs cost more than $35,000 to breed, raise and train.

The vision-impaired woman said: “I was absolutely shocked by what was happening, one dog came up on my right and the other on the left of my guide dog. While the attacking dogs did not bite me, they both managed to get their jaws around my Guide Dog’s face and neck.”

The woman contacted the police after 8pm on Thursday and they arranged for Domestic Animal Services to impound the attacking dogs immediately. Police also took witness statements and believe the incident was caught on CCTV.

This is the third time this guide dog has been attacked by off-lead dogs since it was relocated to the ACT three years ago.

Guide Dogs ACT regional manager, Patrick Shaddock, said dog owners need to keep their pet dogs on leads when out and about.

“Guide Dogs play a vital role in enabling people who are blind or vision impaired to get around independently,” he said.

“Attacks compromise this independence and can cause serious injury and trauma to both the handler and the guide dog. In rare, serious cases, attacks can result in premature retirement of a guide dog, which costs more than $35,000 to breed, raise and train.”

The woman is yet to return to the city but said: “It’s not a place I can avoid. I use the bus interchange to do everyday tasks like visiting the dentist and shopping.”

Police are still investigating the incident. 

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