Awareness Survey of Service Dogs in Restaurants and the Valuation of Enlightenment Activities.

Abstract

Japanese law concerning assistance dogs for the disabled endorses free accesses to public spaces. However, not a few refusals to accept have been reported, even after the enactment of the law. We paraded in Shibuya in April 2012 to enlighten the service dogs and the law. We investigated the impact of the parade on the awareness in 50 restaurants in Shibuya compared with Ikebukuro where enlightenment activity of service dogs had never been held. There were almost no differences on awareness between Shibuya and Ikebukuro. Awareness about the law of people in charge of the restaurants was almost similar to that of general public. The parades on streets were insufficient to enlighten the restaurants about the acceptance of service dogs.