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The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association (known as Guide Dogs) is a British charitable organisation founded in 1934. Guide Dogs provides help to thousands of 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. Guide Dogs’ head office is based near Reading in Berkshire. They have four Guide Dog Training Schools in Redbridge, Leamington, Atherton and Forfar, as well as a National Breeding Centre near Leamington, plus 20 Mobility Teams and many fundraising branches across the country. 〔(Guide Dogs Organisation ), Retrieved 8 January 2015〕 == Service == 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 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 the skills they need. 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. It does not end there; Guide Dogs is committed to providing support for the partnership and to the guide dog owner for as long as it is needed and a guide dog owner could have up to eight dogs in their lifetime. After between six and seven years’ service, a guide dog is retired and is re-homed. Guide Dogs is a world leader in the breeding and training of guide dogs and is a co-founder of the International Guide Dog Federation.〔(International Guide Dog Federation ) Retrieved 25 March 2010〕 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 and the full ‘lifetime cost’ of a guide dog from birth to retirement is around £50,000. The guide dog service receives no government funding and so the charity is completely reliant on voluntary donations and legacy income.〔(Guide Dogs facts ), Retrieved 8 January 2015〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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