The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association
Guide Dogs logo
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| Abbreviation | Guide Dogs |
|---|---|
| Formation | 30 August 1934 |
| Type | Charity |
| John Stewart | |
| Tom Wright | |
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Staff
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1400 |
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Volunteers
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10000 |
| Website | http://www.guidedogs.org.uk |
The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association (working name Guide Dogs) is a British charitable organisation founded in 1934.
Guide Dogs helps blind and partially sighted people across the UK through the provision of guide dogs, mobility and other rehabilitation services. They also campaign for the rights of those with visual impairments and invest in eye disease research.
The head office is near Reading in Berkshire. There are four Guide Dog Training Schools in the UK, located in Redbridge, Leamington, Atherton in England and Forfar in Scotland; a breeding centre near Leamington; 20 Mobility Teams and fundraising branches across the UK. The charity's filed accounts for the year ended December 2015 show income for the year of £103.7 million. In April 2017 the charity was among 11 charities fined by the Information Commissioner for breaching the Data Protection Act by misusing donors’ personal data. It was fined £15,000.
The guide dog service provides a blind or partially sighted person with a guide dog. These dogs are born in the home of a volunteer brood female dog holder and then move to the home of a volunteer puppy walker when six weeks old. After 12 to 14 months the dogs will move to a specialist trainer, where they train for around 26 weeks to gain skills. This includes three to five weeks of intensive work with their new owner. Every person and dog is unique, so matching a guide dog to an owner is a complex process and trainers have to take into account all a person’s needs, including their walking speed, height, and lifestyle. Guide Dogs are committed to supporting the partnership and to the guide dog owner for as long as needed. A guide dog user could have up to eight dogs during their lifetime. After between six and seven years’ service, a guide dog is retired and re-homed.
Guide Dogs are a world leader in the breeding and training of guide dogs and is a co-founder of the International Guide Dog Federation.
There are currently 4,800 working guide dog partnerships in the UK and more than 1,300 puppies are born each year. Guide dog owners only have to pay a nominal 50p for their dog to ensure no-one is prevented from having one due to a lack of funds although the full ‘lifetime cost’ of a guide dog from birth to retirement is around £50,000. The charity is completely reliant on voluntary donations and legacy income.
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