The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association wants a world in which all people who are blind and partially-sighted enjoy the same rights, opportunities and responsibilities as everyone else.

Our mission is to provide guide dogs, mobility and other rehabilitation services that meet the needs of blind and partially-sighted people.

There are currently around 4,700 working guide dogs in the UK, providing their visually-impaired owners with a life-transforming level of independence, freedom of mobility and confidence. The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association celebrated their 75th Anniversary in 2006. Marking the time of the first ever UK trained Guide Dog.

Guide Dogs for the Blind associations (GDBA)

Our travistrek for Guide Dogs this year is as important as ever as the GDBA continue to raise the quality of living for people just like Scott, thanks to wonderful dogs like Travis. They need all our help!

You CAN make a difference!

Guide Dogs Then:

Guide Dogs has grown from a humble but sturdy beginning in 1931 when the first four guide dogs (pictured left) completed their training in the UK.

Musgrave Frankland, one of the first British people to train with a guide dog, once uttered the words: “A guide dog is almost equal in many ways to giving a blind man sight itself,” and it is a sentiment that runs through the work of the charity.

It was thanks to the work of American Dorothy Harrison Eustis that international recognition of training dogs for blind people came to light.

Initial work started in Germany after the first world war, but in 1927 those efforts were spotted by Mrs Eustis when she was working in Switzerland as trainer of rescue dogs for the Red Cross. She subsequently wrote a newspaper article back home in the USA and after that more and more people took notice.

By 1934 The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association was set up.

Guide Dogs Now:

Guide Dogs has more than 800 people working for them. With 29 District Teams located throughout the UK. currently they are helping 4,700 guide dogs and their owners.

And the charity has leapt forward in the last few years in terms of campaigning for blind people’s rights – and helping sighted-people appreciate the difficulties that we experience every day. Small things like not parking on a pavement, or cutting back overhanging branches make a real difference to us and the dogs. That’s why the charity launched its Safer Streets Campaign with an A-Z guide listing obstacles that make it difficult for us to walk with ease.

Another successful campaign has been Re-think Rehab. Many blind and partially -sighted people still face social exclusion because of under-investment in rehabilitation services. This campaign has raised awareness, and lobbied MP's about this injustice, to encourage the government to provide more money for these services.

Guide Dogs 75th year - 2006

The team at Guide Dogs were run off their feet last year with all the different celebrations which took place.

One of the main events was their Dogathon which was on Sunday, 28 May 2006. It was staged at five locations across the UK, and it was a chance for kids, their families and Guide Dogs supporters to walk three miles and raise money for the charity.

The charity linked up with CBBC’s Blue Peter to promote the event. The programme has a history with Guide Dogs dating back to the 1960s when they raised money to pay for two guide dogs. The presenters were so enthusiastic– they asked to help with the puppy training – and dogs Honey and Cindy became the first two Blue Peter sponsored guide dogs.

Facts and Figures

• In 2005, 1050 puppies went through Guide Dogs’ puppy centre. Each pup's name begins with the same letter as its litter mates.

• Guide Dogs’ puppy walkers take in six week old pups and hand them back when they are 12 months old.

• Specialist guide dog trainers undergo a rigorous 15 month apprenticeship.

• The guide dog service is dependent on over 14,000 people who voluntarily give up their time.

• Guide Dogs’ Rehabilitation Workers helped 2,300 people in 2005 become more independent, some for the first time in years.

• We receive no government funding for our guide dog service.

Please help us help them by donating now - Thank You!