Guide Dog in MRT Goes Viral for All the Right Reasons

It’s not common to see a dog in an MRT train, and when you see it, it gets viral for all the good reasons.

On 21 September 2016, Facebook user Edythe Lee posted a photo album of a guide dog inside an MRT—it’s merely a simple post, but that has garnered over 12,000 Shares.

In case you can’t read it, here’s what she typed.

It’s my first time seeing a guide dog in Singapore public transport. This furkid is so well behaved!

To those I don’t know who you are, Thank you for sharing my post😊

Do hope more will share to educate the world guide dog is for the special ones. They guide their angels walking through the dark. They have made a difference to the special ones in many ways

According to one of the Facebook comments, there are only four guide dogs in Singapore.

dog1

A check on The Guide Dogs Association of the Blind website shows that a first guide dog, Jordie, was trained in Singapore. There were also three more of these guide dogs, namely Esme (who has a Facebook Page, though it’s not active now), Seretta and Melba.

If you’re surprised at how well-behaved the guide dog is, you’re not alone: in Singapore, many of us have HDB-approved breeds like Shih Tzu or Chihuahua, and these breeds are usually highly active and much more difficult to train.

Guide dogs are usually Labrador Retrievers, or commonly known as Labrador. While they are one of the most popular dogs in the US, the number of Labradors in Singapore isn’t a lot—firstly, these big dogs are not HDB-approved and secondly, for some reason, Singaporeans who live in private property prefer Labrador’s close relative, the Golden Retriever.

Image: youngryand / Shutterstock.com
Image: youngryand / Shutterstock.com

But Labrador is one of the smartest dogs ever—not only are they very trainable, they serve in the Singapore Army and Police Force as well. They’re not the fierce ones who bite the bad guys, through; they’re the ones who sniff for any suspicious articles.

Image: dezi / Shutterstock.com
Image: dezi / Shutterstock.com

And here’s the thing: this breed hasn’t been getting the attention it deserves. It’s a big dog, but it’s one heck of a gentle giant, and please remember this: Labradors are very friendly and won’t bite. Just don’t disturb them when they’re guiding and protecting their owners.

And I can assume you this: you don’t need to be scared of a Labrador. It’s as harmless as a baby.

So next time, if you see one Labrador in, say, Singapore Customs, remember to say hi to it. It’s just as well-behaved as the one in the MRT!

Featured Image: Facebook (Edythe Lee)

This article was first published on goodyfeed.com