‘Please, be kind’: Doctor with guide dog accosted by stranger on Tube escalator

A doctor has shared a video showing the vile way he and his guide dog were treated by another passenger in a London Underground station.

Author and disability rights campaigner Dr Amit Patel shared a clip on Twitter of him and his guide dog Kika being confronted by a man who urged them to move aside on the escalator.

The man can be heard saying: “You’re worse than a dog if you don’t understand the human being. I just want to catch the train.”

Dr Patel replied: “Yes but I can’t move, she’s a guide dog. I can’t physically move, she’s not going to move. There’s no point arguing.”

The irate passenger then stopped talking.

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Dr Patel uploaded the video yesterday morning where it has since received over 840,000 views.

He posted the clip along with the message: “Why do some people get so angry? This guy may have forgotten what he said by the time he got on the tube, but it ruined my day.

“You can hear in my voice just how stressed I was. I’d never endanger @Kika_GuideDog or myself by attempting to move on an escalator. Please, be kind.”

Since sharing the video of the encounter, Dr Patel has been flooded with support.

The official account for the charity Guide Dogs wrote: “We're so sorry you've had to endure this Amit. Hope you and @Kika_GuideDog are ok.”

Guide Dogs also reshared the video along with the message: “To reiterate from @BlindDad_Uk - It is incredibly dangerous to demand a guide dog owner ‘moves’ on an escalator.”

Some also shared similar stories of the way they and their guide dogs have been treated by strangers, with others expressing how appalled they were at the stranger’s behaviour.

Dr Patel was registered severely sight impaired after losing his sight to keratoconus in 2013.

Amit was matched with Kika, his first guide dog, in 2015. Kika was the inspiration behind Dr Patel’s book, Kika & Me.

In a statement to Indy100, TfL’s Chief Customer Officer Mark Evers said: “We are very sorry that Dr Patel experienced this. Everyone has the right to travel around London safely without abuse and we encourage customers to be patient and mindful of other people’s needs.

“We have reached out to Dr Patel to ask for more information about this incident so we can ensure everything is being done to prevent this from happening again.”

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