Introduction
Our School
Hong Kong Seeing Eye Dog Training School, which took more than two years to build, is located at No. 300 Lin Ma Hang Road, Ta Kwu Ling. It was revitalized from a historical building and a public school, covering an area of about 24,500 square feet. The school building provides a number of indoor and outdoor training facilities of international level, including dog spa swimming pool, outdoor pedestrian bridge and simulated tunnel…etc. Among them, simulated zebra crossings and formal traffic lights are specially set up to help seeing eye dogs get familiar with the traffic environment in the community and provide a more realistic space for pairing training with visually impaired people.
There is also a memorial garden outside the school, with a bronze statue of a seeing eye dog, as a thank you for the contribution of seeing eye dogs to mankind. There is a monument in the garden to commemorate Hong Kong’s first locally trained seeing eye dog Google. Its footprints are printed on the monument to commemorate its service and dedication to the visually impaired. There is a grass park on the other side of the campus, where plants such as Podocarpus pine are planted, allowing seeing eye dogs to rest and play in an environment close to nature.
When attending the “The Grand Opening of Hong Kong Seeing Eye Dog Training School cum The 10th Anniversary of Hong Kong Seeing Eye Dog Services”, Caring Ambassador Mr. Lai Lok Yi demonstrated the cooperation with seeing eye dogs on the spot, demonstrating traffic lights and avoiding roadblocks in the new school building etc., to experience first-hand the close relationship between the visually impaired and seeing eye dogs.
Linn Hon-ho, Secretary of the Development Bureau, said at the opening ceremony that Hong Kong Seeing Eye Dog Training School is the first large-scale seeing eye dog training facility in Hong Kong. In 2019, the Development Bureau allocated 56 million yuan to subsidize detailed design and site survey and construction projects, giving the vacant school buildings new life and new missions; free trained seeing eye dogs to serve the visually impaired, helping them integrate into the community and promoting an inclusive culture.
Ms. Mabel Cheung, chairlady of the Hong Kong Seeing Eye Dog Services, pointed out that before the school is completed, the visually impaired and seeing eye dogs often have to be trained outside the street. Our school added different facilities according to the actual situation in Hong Kong, such as traffic lights, zebra crossings and pedestrian bridges, so that trainers, visually impaired people and seeing eye dogs can receive comprehensive training in a safer environment. Cheung Ka Wai, the chief executive of the center, hopes that with the establishment of the school, it will not only promote the service of seeing eye dogs in Hong Kong, but also enhance the public’s understanding of working dogs, actively strive for legal status for local seeing eye dogs, and ensure their safety during outdoor training and on duty. So that they can enjoy their due rights and interests in society.
