The Botanics takes the lead with Assistance Dog Day

The Botanics ‘takes the lead’,

with Assistance Dog Day

Wednesday 14 May - The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh will host an
Assistance Dog Day on Sunday 15 June to highlight the accessibility of the
Garden. The day has been officially launched by Fergus Ewing MSP, Minister for
Energy, Enterprise and Tourism. Partners of the event include the major
assistance dog associations across Scotland and the UK: Guide Dogs Scotland,
Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, Canine Partners and Medical Detection Dogs.

The day promises to be fascinating and fun for all the family. In the beautiful
surroundings of the Botanics, the public will be able to meet some of the
cleverest dogs around. People will get the chance to take a blindfolded walk
with a guide dog, meet the cutest puppies in training, learn about the skills of
hearing dogs and others that help people with disabilities.

There will be assisted Garden guided tours for those with visual impairments,
hearing difficulties and mobility problems. Also, conservationist Dr Heather
McHaffie will talk to visitors about how plant-hunting impacts on the senses.
Assistance dog owners and their canine companions will be especially welcome.

On launching the initiative, the Minister commented: “Scotland’s world class
visitor attractions sit at the heart of the memorable experience we offer tourists.
Today’s launch of the Edinburgh Royal Botanic Garden’s Assistance Dogs Day is
an example of how Scotland’s visitor attractions are working to ensure that all
their visitors receive a warm welcome.

“Visitor attractions have a key part to play in achieving our aims for
Homecoming Scotland 2014 especially during this significant year for Scottish

tourism which also features the Commonwealth Games, the Ryder Cup and MTV
Europe Music Awards.”

Simon Milne MBE, Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, said:
“Around nine per cent of our visitors last year identified themselves, or a
member of their group, as being disabled. Our day in June will be an
opportunity for us to invite even more people with specific needs to visit us. We
hope to gain lots of feedback from visitors which will help us to continue to
develop what we offer here at the Botanics.”

The idea of Assistance Dog Day at the Botanics has been created in association
with VisitScotland to celebrate accessible tourism.

Commenting, Chris McCoy, Head of VisitScotland’s Accessible Tourism Project,
said: Assistance dogs make a vital contribution to the lives of hundreds of
people throughout the country and it is important that, wherever possible, they
are made to feel welcome by Scotland’s tourism businesses. The Assistance Dog
Day is a terrific way for the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh to highlight the
difference these wonderful animals make to so many lives and get people
thinking about how they can make their own businesses more accessible.”

ends

Notes to Editors

Contact: Paula Bushell, Head of Marketing and Communication on
[email protected] or 07866 312545, or Shauna Hay, Press Manager on 0131
248 2900/07824 529028

The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh was recently listed as the 17th best
attraction for disabled people and their carers to visit in the UK by The Vitalise
UK Tourism Report 2014. The Garden’s mission is ‘exploring and explaining the
world of plants for a better future’ and it is a leading research organisation
delivering knowledge and education about plants.

Guide Dogs Scotland, supported entirely by public generosity, provides a
range of mobility services for people with sight loss. There are around 530
guide dog owners in Scotland and the organisation strives to ensure that blind
and partially sighted people enjoy the same freedom of movement as everyone
else.

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People is a registered charity that trains dogs to alert
deaf people to household sounds and danger signals such as the doorbell,
telephone and smoke alarm. Hearing Dogs provides a national service and no
charge is made to recipients. Since its inception in 1982, Hearing Dogs for Deaf
People have placed more than 1950 hearing dogs. The charity will be launching
a new puppy socialising scheme in Scotland later in the year.

Canine Partners trains assistance dogs for people with disabilities to enable
them to enjoy a greater independence, better quality of life and, where possible,
to help them into education and employment. The organisation supports people
with varying complex disabilities such as MS, Cerebral Palsy and Muscular
Dystrophy. The dogs are trained with everyday tasks such as opening and
closing doors, unloading and loading the washing machine, picking up dropped
items, pressing buttons and switches and getting help in an emergency.

Medical Detection Dogs is a charity which trains specialist dogs to detect the
odour of human disease. Medical Alert Assistance Dogs are trained to assist
people who manage complex medical conditions on a day to day basis. The
dogs are taught to identify the odour changes that are associated with certain
medical events.