Bad Reichenhall is officially assistance dog friendly!
The assistance dog teams in the region owe this above all to the commitment of Michaela Schäffer, who stood with her guide dog Ben at the city council meeting for 30 minutes to answer questions.
At its meeting at the end of October, the city council then unanimously voted to declare Bad Reichenhall an assistance dog-friendly municipality. The corresponding motion of the FWG parliamentary group had been introduced by senior citizen speaker Vera Kaniber. Although it is clearly regulated by law that assistance dogs, which are specially trained, are allowed to enter places where people in street clothes are allowed to enter, those affected are often confronted in everyday life with the fact that they are denied access to authorities, doctors’ surgeries, leisure facilities, hairdressers’ salons, retail shops or restaurants – often out of ignorance. Bad Reichenhall wants to set a good example and so Mayor Dr. Christoph Lung, together with the Senior Citizens’ Officer and Head of the Main and Personnel Office Markus Schönhöfer, officially declared the city of Bad Reichenhall an assistance dog-friendly municipality, now that all the necessary criteria have been implemented and fulfilled. This includes, among other things, the provision of relevant information materials, and their inclusion in the so-called „DogMap” on the internet showing where assistance dogs are allowed, the affixing of door stickers with the inscription “Assistance dog welcome” to all municipal facilities, and the adaptation of corresponding house rules. Although there is no general ban on dogs in the two town halls anyway, there is in the Reichenhall Museum. The stickers on the doors signal to people who depend on an assistance dog that their access rights are protected with their assistance dog. Staff have also been made aware accordingly. “There is an urgent need for education when it comes to informing people about assistance dogs and their access rights,” explains Senior Citizens’ Officer Kaniber. “The access campaign, which is being carried out nationwide by the association “Pfotenpiloten” and funded by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, is primarily about building understanding and bringing the Participation Strengthening Act to the public in order to avoid conflicts and misunderstandings in everyday life.” Lord Mayor Dr. Lung expressed his sincere thanks to Senior Citizens’ Officer Kaniber for her commitment to people with impairments and their four-legged companions.
Detailed information on the campaign is also available on the website of the city of Bad Reichenhall. Corresponding flyers are available in all municipal facilities.
The “Assistance Dog Welcome” campaign was made possible by funding from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) and the Aktion Mensch.
