Dogs for Sight Movement
Helping the blind to see
Did you know that Guide Dog services have been around since the late 1940s to help World War II soldiers who had lost their eyesight? Guide Dogs has since impacted and assisted tens of thousands of visually impaired individuals in more than 80 nations globally! Guide dogs are taught intelligent disobedience to block and protect their owners from proceeding when there is an unsafe situation.
Guide Dogs are an important link to the blind and visually impaired. With a guide dog as an emotional and mobility aid, the visually impaired are able to regain confidence and trust to live independently, be integrated into the community and become contributors to society. Studies have shown that those who have service animals have higher confidence in going about day-to-day life and have greater resilience with a faithful loyal service dog companion.
Meet LaShawn...
Lashawn is the first ever guide dog in Malaysia. In 2014, Stevens, our founder decided to go to Nanjing, China in search of a loyal companion and mobility aid to bring home to Malaysia. Lashawn has since been such a great blessing to Stevens and his wife, Kaye as both a companion and aiding Stevens to move around independently. He faithfully accompanies Stevens everywhere, except to places where animals are not allowed. Read about Stevens and Lashawn’s journey here.
In Malaysia, there are restrictions imposed on guide dogs because they are not listed as service dogs. Therefore, guide dog services for the visually impaired are unheard of. There is much education and awareness required to understand the needs and importance of guide dogs for the visually impaired community. Watch this video below to learn more and catch that glimpse of light.
Relevant Articles:
​Having served his master for 6 years, Lashawn has sadly passed away due to a bacterial infection in May 2020. Read about LaShawn's passing here. Stevens and Kaye were really heartbroken and it has been such a great loss to the family. However, Lashawn’s story and the dream to build the first Guide Dog School in Malaysia lives on so more can be empowered to live an independent life with a loyal companion and mobility support.
As a start, Dialogue Includes All is fundraising to set up a Guide Dog Gallery & Information Centre with the objective to continue to promote awareness and support for the cause. With this, we hope to create greater awareness and education on the importance of having guide dogs to build an inclusive and empathetic society and empower those who are visually impaired. Following more support and acceptance from the public, we hope to begin a dialogue on Guide Dogs as service dogs with our Government to allow zero barriers access to all private and public places including public transportation in Malaysia.
Champion our efforts by following us on our social media channels and share on your own social media to start dialogue with the following hashtag #dialogueincludes #dogsforsight
@lashawndfs