International Guide Dog Day
Happy International Guide Dog Day! One day is certainly not enough to celebrate all of the positive impact Guide Dogs are making throughout the world. Guide dogs give life back to their handlers. We are so proud to partner with the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, who has been training and matching guide dogs with people since 1946. All of their dogs enjoy our Nature's Select Dry Food and we’ve been a proud supporter of theirs for many years now. Learn more about their organization below.
The Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind is an industry leader in guide and service dog training and will be celebrating their 75th anniversary this year. The Foundation is devoted to its mission to improve the quality of life for people who are blind, have low vision, or other special needs.
As partners of The Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, we feel that it is our duty to ensure that people not only know how to interact with a guide dog when they see one, but to truly understand the impact that they are making in society. Click here to learn more about guide dog etiquette.
The Guide Dog Foundation breeds its own dogs through one of the world’s finest breeding and puppy raising programs. They use pure bred Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Standard Poodles, and first-generation Labrador/Golden crosses.
Each guide dog student is carefully matched with a dog that best suits that person’s mobility, personality, lifestyle, and physical needs. Once matched, students attend a two-week training program relevant to their home environment and lifestyle. The Guide Dog Foundation is dually accredited by the International Guide Dog Federation and Assistance Dogs International.
The Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization. They are located just 45 minutes outside of Manhattan in Smithtown, New York, and they service all of the United States, Canada and Mexico and currently have graduates from Brazil, Israel and El Salvador. The Guide Dog Foundation is proud of its reputation as a charitable organization. They consistently receive high marks from charity watchdog organizations including being a 4-star charity with Charity Navigator.
The Guide Dog Foundation is always in need of volunteers. To learn more about volunteering opportunities, click here.
To learn more about the Guide Dog Foundation or to make a donation, click here.