A man walks into a bar...with his service animal. The beginning of that sentence is pretty common in TT, but in its entirety, not so much.
In many countries, service animals are allowed into banks, hotels, restaurants, among other places. However, in TT, most businesses have no set policies.
Service animals – usually dogs – are trained to assist people with disabilities or diseases that can threaten their physical well-being. Miniature horses may also be service animals.
These trained and certified animals can be used as as guides for the blind, alert deaf people of possible danger, help someone who is having a seizure, assist someone in a wheelchair, or help a diabetic patient who is experiencing issues caused by fluctuating blood sugar levels, among other things.
They are not to be confused with emotional support animals, which can be any domesticated animal that provides therapeutic relief to people with psychiatric problems.
In 2015, then minister of food production Devant Maharaj introduced a policy allowing service animals to enter government buildings. The inspiration behind this, he said then, was a project by students at UWI, St Augustine's optometry department.
The group pitched the idea of a TT Guide Dog Association, which was eventually created but had a very short lifespan.
Maharaj also arranged the procurement of equipment for maintaining the dogs and waived the 15 per cent VAT and 40 per cent customs duty for importing it.
The association imported four dogs, but finances became a challenge and it was dissolved. No dogs were ever trained.
One past member told Sunday Newsday the cost of trainers was too high, despite repeated fundraisers. A service dog can cost between US$15,000 and US$50,000.
The Blind Welfare Association (BWA) said there have been four seeing-eye/guide dogs in TT to date.
Over two decades ago, Maureen Ramroop became the first person in TT to own one – Patches, a golden retriever.
In a recent Newsday column by animal welfare activist Elspeth Duncan, Ramroop said Patches was "a real guinea pig" and got "real blows from all of the adversaries in terms of being accepted as a guide dog."
At the time, she said, TT culture did not recognise guide dogs, but wondered if continued public education could have changed this.
Extempo veteran Joseph "Lingo" Vautor La Placeliere had Kokua, a yellow labrador, some 18 years ago. They worked together for ten years.
He said his biggest challenge was public transport.
"The drivers in, for example, the PTSC (Public Transport Service Commission) buses, if they say they don't want the dog on the bus, I couldn't do anything about it."
He said they once tried to board the inter-island ferry,but employees refused to let them. But the captain, an American, said he didn't see a problem and scolded the employees. But even on board, staff members demanded they remain in one spot and not move around the ferry.
Over the years, they were able to enter a few buildings, including the Hyatt Regency and President's House. However, he
