Blind man attaches GoPro to his guide dog to get heartbreaking footage
In order to show the heartbreaking reality of commuting while blind, a London man strapped a GoPro camera to his guide dog.
Amit Patel, a 37-year-old former doctor, has relied on his dog named Kika since he lost his sight in 2012.
He found himself frustrated over the number of incidents he faced on a daily basis that he could not see for himself.
"People barged me out of the way, Kika got abused, hit with umbrellas, bags," he told Mashable.
Every day when he returns home, Amit shares the footage with his wife, Seema. She reviews the video to see if the people who mistreat Amit and Kiki have done it intentionally.
Seema then shares the videos to Kika's Twitter account to raise awareness.
Amit shared a particularly bad incident with Mashable:
"I was with my 2-month old baby on my chest, the dog on the left side blocking the escalator. A lady came running behind us. I told her I couldn't walk up the escalator because of my dog. She had a go, saying was going to miss the train because of my dog," Patel said.
Despite the terrible incidents he has reported, Amit said that most of the time, he has no issues at all. Just about 1 percent of people he encounters are rude.
"People distract her (Kika), get in the way, try to be funny or bump her," he told Mashable.
"Some parents don't care and have their children screaming at the dog or petting it — so I have to kindly tell them she's working and ask if they can wait until we get on the train."
Amit told Mashable that he was scolded by a woman for 20 minutes about how the dog had rabies so he should get off -- and sadly, no one defended him.
"It's difficult enough to travel across London — imagine with eyes shut, no useful vision at all," he told Mashable.
Amit has not always been blind. A few years ago, a condition called Keratoconus changed the shape of his cornea. The six cornea transplants he received were each rejected by his body.
But things are looking up for Amit.
"One thing I've found being recently blind is the loneliness," he told Mashable.
"I rely on Kika and on hearing. But I always try to leave the house with a smile on my face."
Though sometimes he struggles to get around, Amit told Mashable that the staff at Transport for London has been extremely helpful.
"Once I got off at the wrong station and Kika got lost," he told Mashable. "A guy saw me from the distance and walked over to me, touched me on the shoulder and asked if I needed help. He took me all the way to the right one."
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