Which charity would your favourite furry friend support? Dig deep for Guide Dogs.

On Guide Dogs Day today, Guide Dogs SA/NT is asking dog owners to ask their pampered pooches who they would put their paw up to support, and we have no doubt it would be Guide Dogs.

To support Guide Dogs SA/NT leading up to and on International Guide Dog Day, several pubs, cafes and retailers will be supporting the cause by donating $1 or more per sale – including on puppacinos, coffees and meals.

SOHO Coffee Roasters, which distributes its own ethical coffee beans and runs several cafes, will be donating $1 for every sale today, with several Guide Dogs and their handlers expected to pop in for morning tea.

With the International Guide Dog Day theme in 2024 being Wherever you can go, guide dogs can go too, SOHO is putting its best paw forward by welcoming all furry four-legged friends.

Guide Dogs SA/NT has been encouraging businesses to host a fundraising morning tea, or to hold a “bring your dog to work” event to recognise the day. A team of staff and supporters will also be working in a telethon-style phone room back at Guide Dogs SA/NT headquarters where donations will be matched by several corporate partners including Adelaide Airport Limited, Beyond Bank, Ord Minnett and William Buck. Several pubs, including the Sussex Hotel, have also been holding events to recognise Guide Dogs Day, spreading the message that guide dogs are welcome everywhere.

According to EY, in the last two years, 71 per cent of Guide Dog handlers have experienced entry refusals at pubs, cafes, restaurants, hotels and supermarkets across Australia because they had a Guide Dog, and Guide Dogs SA/NT CEO Aaron Chia said discrimination was not only wrong, but it was also illegal.

Mr Chia said he appreciated retailers, cafes and pubs being on board to prevent guide and assistance dogs discrimination, and the organisation appreciated their financial support.

He said donating on behalf of a four-legged friend would mean another loveable labrador would get the chance to undertake training and to change people’s lives.

“We have no doubt that if your pet could speak, they would be praising the work of our trained Guide, Assistance and Facility dogs, and they’d be putting their paws out and donating to Guide Dogs Day, helping us to help others,” Mr Chia said.

Mr Chia said Adelaide would also light up in orange this evening to celebrate International Guide Dogs Day, including Adelaide Oval, the River Torrens Footbridge, University of South Australia, the Adelaide Railway Station, Parliament House, Adelaide Entertainment Centre, and the Festival Theatre, recognising the services provided to people in South Australia and the Northern Territory since 1957.

Guide Dogs SA/NT Chief Executive Aaron Chia said it took more than $50,000 to breed, raise and train a Guide Dog or Assistance Dog, and on Guide Dogs Day, donating on behalf of a four-legged friend would mean another loveable labrador would get the chance to undertake training and to change people’s lives.

You, or your dog can help too. Make a donation on Guide Dogs Day at www.guidedogsday.com.au (the portal will remain open following the event for a week), or please call the Telethon team on (08) 8115 6060.

Guide Dogs SA/NT will be holding a media call with Aaron Chia at SOHO, at the rear of Australian Coffee Distributors, at 233 Morphett St this morning at 10.30am.

The media is invited to attend (and to buy a coffee in support of Guide Dogs SA/NT on Guide Dogs Day). The Guide Dogs SA/NT team, including labs in training, clients and their Guide Dogs will be in attendance.