It’s easy to love dogs. They’re gentle, adorable, playful, loving, and even loyal. These are basically the reasons why dogs are considered to be ‘man’s best friend’. They can instantly brighten up a home and bring so much joy to a family. As you all know, some dogs even help people with disabilities and assist them all throughout the day.
22-year-old Megan Taylor has been getting by every day with the help of her guide dog, Rowley. Megan is blind and one of the things her guide dog helps her with is taking the bus. It’s never easy and they always encounter rude and insensitive passengers during their trips. However, one incident really made Megan re-think about using public transport again.
One day, right after Megan stepped into a bus, a passenger turned to her, and said “why is there a f***ing on the bus? Get it off”. Megan explained that Rowley is her guide dog. The woman didn’t believe her since Rowley is a black Labrador. The passenger seemed to think that only a yellow Labrador could be considered a service dog. Megan told her that guide dogs can be of any color but the woman still didn’t seem to understand. Megan decided to just ignore the passenger since it was pointless to argue with her anyway.
According to Megan, this wasn’t the first time people didn’t treat her well on public transport. Some times people even denied her to sit on priority seats, because “she doesn’t look disabled”, even after showing people her medical alert card. For this reason, she is so nervous when she has to use public transport. “People should know assistance dogs come in many shapes and sizes and are trained to support people with a range of disabilities. They aren’t just for the blind. Thanks to the confidence Rowley has given me I was able to stay calm when the woman started shouting at me” Megan told the Liverpool Echo.
Despite having so many negative experiences on public transport, Megan still has faith in people, and knows they are the minority “Most people are good and kind”, she finally said during the interview.
Rowley helps Megan in many other ways, including helping with simple household chores and reaching the phone for emergencies.
Megan started suffering from ‘episodic blindness’ after a head injury, when she was 15 years old. This caused other medical conditions, including vertigo, fainting attacks, hearing loss, and impaired balance.
Megan chose to stay positive, despite the unfavorable incidents she experienced with her guide dog.
“I try to stay positive and not let incidents such as what happened to get me down because I am not ashamed of my disability. Despite having so many negative experiences, I know that these people are the minority. Most people are good and kind.”
