INDEPENDENCE GUIDE DOGS
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Mission Statement
Independence Guide Dogs is dedicated to increasing the independence of visually-impaired and blind individuals. IGD breeds, raises, trains and places German Shepherd Guide Dogs with qualified clients at no cost to the client. The process takes almost two years and $25,000 per Guide dog Team.
About This Cause
IGD provides for free German Shepherd Guide Dogs to blind individuals. We are a 501c3 nonprofit organization that depends on the generosity of people like you to breed, raise, train and match these life-changing guide dogs with deserving individuals. There are around 3 million individuals in the US that report having some type of visual impairment according to the US Census Bureau. It is estimated that there are only 8500 working guide dog teams in America. Every guide dog training program in the US reports having a one to two year wait list of applicants. So, you can see the desperate need for Independence Guide Dogs. IGD is different from other guide dog providers in three distinct ways. First, we deliver the guide dog right to the blind client’s home and conduct three weeks of custom, one-on-one training with our Clients in their community. Our Local Instruction Familiar Environment, or LIFE Training Program does not disrupt the new handler’s life. This allows for clients to continue with their work or school while they receive personalized instruction how to use their new Independence Guide Dog and learning in the client’s familiar community gives them extra confidence in enjoying the new found independence. With traditional schools, clients are expected to put their life on hold for a month while they travel to a far-away campus to train in a classroom setting. IGD is working to end the idea that institutionalization of people with disabilities is necessary to receive services that allow them to live more independently. The second difference with IGD is that we specialize in training German Shepherd guide Dogs. Most programs around the Nation have abandoned the original guide dog breed of choice. Many of us who are blind prefer the German Shepherd Dog over other breeds for their level of intellectual engagement with their handler and their unsurpassed work ethic. For the active individual, The German Shepherd Dog is the only breed that can provide the level of work necessary to match our life style. The third, but certainly not less important difference is our Home-to-Harness Training Program. IGD is the first kennel-free guide dog training program in North America. Our dogs never live in a boarding kennel. With only a 45 percent success rate, IGD was compelled to remove the largest single cause of stress and failure, the six-month stay in a boarding-kennel. Other organizations take their adolescent dogs from their Puppy Raiser family and board them during their formal guide dog training. We believe that it is important for Independence Guide Dogs to remain with their Puppy Raiser families even while our certified Guide Dog Mobility Instructor’s teach them how to be a guide dog. This model further reinforces the hard work that our dedicated Puppy Raisers have invested into their pups’ upbringing and better prepares the future guide dog to smoothly transition into life with his or her new blind handler. Independence Guide Dogs provide more than increased mobility; they provide a level of confidence, companionship and opportunity that a white cane can never match. Although the change an Independence Guide Dog will bring to a blind person’s life is priceless,it does cost around $25,000 to breed, raise and train a guide dog. According to a 2007 study conducted by the seeing Eye foundation in Morristown, NJ, the cost of replacing a guide dog is $52,000. IGD’s innovative model for training and placing guide dogs allows the organization to spend less than half the industry standard on each dog. However, $25,000 is much more than most of us can afford to pay for the chance to be independent. That is why Independence Guide Dogs depends on your contribution to increase the independence of blind individuals. My Independence Guide Dog, Dazzler changed my life forever. Now, IGD wants you to be a part of our effort to change the life of individuals with visual impairments. To learn how you can be a part of this life-changing experience, visit us on the web at igdogs.org, on Face Book or call 206.588.2453.