After long preparations and a well-attended press conference, Celle is now officially assistance dog friendly.
Celle welcomed us with warm sunshine, clear streets, enough parking spaces at the station, functioning lifts and inviting parking spaces at the New Town Hall. This can irritate a Berliner. The fact that we were then welcomed at the bakery where we fortified ourselves before the press conference, instead of the usual “but no dogs here”, gave us hope for a great day in the district town, which is considered the southern gateway to the Lüneburg Heath.
Ms Ebel, from the press and public relations department, was a reliable and open-minded contact person for us in the weeks before. She received us in the New Town Hall. This gave everything unknown that came our way in the next hour a friendly anchor point. When we arrived with her in the foyer, we were amazed at the throng of press, but also at the many representatives of the city from very different areas. OB Dr Nigge explained once again that he, like so many others, would not have believed that there were actually still so many barriers for human-assistance dog teams and that the city of Celle is now setting an example. He also promised to sensitise fellow mayors and enlist them in the access campaign.
A whole hour later we spoke with representatives of the city and the press. We informed, reported, chatted, about all related topics, from assistance dog law to access rights.
Ms Wolken from the Lower Saxony State Health Office then discussed a particularly explosive topic with us – assistance dogs in the health sector. We want to educate together. It gives us so much courage to have such committed fellow campaigners.
To share the good news of assistance dog-friendly Celle, various media have published some articles that you can find and visit here to learn more.
Not all dogs are the same, as all participants became aware during today’s award ceremony in the city. Some people are dependent on a very special dog due to illnesses that may not be visible. However, these assistance dogs are usually not perceived as such by the public, and thus their human companions often experience rejection. In order to better educate in such cases and to show everyone that assistance dogs can calmly be taken everywhere, the city of Celle acts as a pioneer for hopefully many other businesses and institutions.
Celle press
Photo: Peter Müller from Celle Today.
[…] Assistance dogs are animal aids that are specially trained and[bald] uniformly tested. They are a constant companion of the disabled individual.
In Celle’s public buildings, both now have access everywhere. “We want to be a role model for the city of Celle,” emphasises the Mayor.
Anke Schlicht from Celle Today
Here you can find some photos (copyright of the city of Celle):
The “Assistance Dog Welcome” campaign was made possible by funding from the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) and the Aktion Mensch.
