Your questions answered

Making a donation to Guide Dogs on behalf of someone close to you can be a heart-warming way to keep their memory alive. But you might want to know a bit more about us before you take the next step. Here are the answers to the questions we are most often asked. If you have a question that's not covered here, please feel free to contact me or a member of the team and we'll do all we can to help.

Questions about Guide Dogs

Questions about making a gift in memory of a loved one

What difference do guide dogs make to visually impaired people?

The world can be a confusing and dangerous place to someone who is blind or partially-sighted. It is often easier to stay indoors rather than risk the busy roads and the perils of going outside. Blind and partially-sighted people also begin to lose their confidence and independence as they count on relatives or neighbours to help them around.

A guide dog can change all that. They can help a blind or partially-sighted person get out of the house and experience things that many of us take for granted, like popping down to the shops or going for a walk in a park. For many people it can be the first time they have been independent for a long time.

"Having a guide dog has given me back my dignity, my reason to live. Until I had Isla I was ignored, had been attacked and was too frightened to leave the house. Now I feel like a human being again."
Hilda Winters, 89-year-old guide dog owner

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How much does it cost to train a guide dog?

Many hours go into the training of every guide dog. From the initial breeding through to puppy walking and specialist training, it takes lots of work, and many people get involved. In fact, every single guide dog partnership takes around 24 months of training, seven years of support, and costs over £40,000. To meet the costs of the training, not to mention all the food, vaccinations and veterinary support, we really do rely on the donations that people make towards our work.

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How many guide dogs are trained each year?

Guide Dogs breeds and trains over 1,200 puppies a year.

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Who trains the puppies?

It takes a large team of specialist people to help a puppy become a guide dog. To begin with, a puppy lives with a volunteer puppy walker, who cares for the pup until it's 12 to 14 months old. They teach it basic obedience, like 'sit', 'stay' and 'come'. They also get the pup used to different environments and experience all the sights, sounds and smells they may come across as a guide dog.

Puppies then move on to one of our Guide Dog Training Schools. Here, a Guide Dog Trainer will teach them to find their way around real-life obstacles, such as queues in shops and roadworks, and they are exposed to as many different scenarios as possible. The final stage is for a Guide Dogs Mobility Instructor to partner them with a guide dog owner. Every person and dog is unique, so this is a complex and carefully managed process. For instance, if the new owner is a mum who uses a pushchair, the dog will be trained to make allowances for it.

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What is the working life of a guide dog, and what happens when they get old?

On average guide dogs work for around 7 years. After that, they normally stay with the person who they have been working with, but if that's not possible we will rehome the dog with a new owner.

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Where does the money come from to fund the guide dog service?

Guide Dogs rely entirely on voluntary income and gifts in Wills to deliver our services. Without help from our generous supporters, our work could not continue.

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Does Guide Dogs help visually impaired people in other ways?

Yes. We don't just provide people with guide dogs, we work to give blind and partially-sighted people their mobility and freedom in lots of different ways. We provide rehabilitation services for people who have recently lost their sight, including long cane mobility training and communication and daily living skills. We also educate the public in eye health, helping to prevent sight loss, and fund sophisticated medical research into eye disease. Equal rights for visually impaired people is also an important part of our work, and we campaign for rights that most sighted people take for granted. This includes helping blind and partially-sighted young people enjoy a full, happy and independent life.

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Can I choose how my donation is spent?

Any donations made in memory of a loved one will be very gratefully received and support our vital services. However, if you would like to support a particular area of our work with a gift, please call the Gifts In Memory team on 0845 603 1477 to discuss how we can best support your wishes.

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How does Guide Dogs spend the donations it receives?

All donations that are received will help Guide Dogs keep its lifetime promise to provide every guide dog owner with a guide dog for as long as they need one. It will also help us campaign for the rights of people with visual impairment, educate the public about eye care and fund eye disease research. We rely totally on voluntary charity donations and gifts in Wills to deliver the guide dog service. Without help from people like you, our work could not continue.

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Why should I consider a gift in lieu of flowers to Guide Dogs?

It's traditional to give flowers at a funeral, but more and more people nowadays are choosing to commemorate the life of a loved one by donating to a cause close to their heart. Gifts in memory like this are especially important to Guide Dogs, as they are a very personal and precious way of remembering someone, whilst also supporting our vital work.

At Guide Dogs we can provide you with special envelopes to use for a funeral collection. They are tastefully designed and can be personalised to include the name of the person you are remembering. The pre-paid envelopes can be handed back to the person who organised the collection or sent directly back to us, so that we can thank everyone who has donated.

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What is a Tribute Fund and why should I think about setting one up?

A Tribute Fund is an individual fund that is set up in the name of a loved one. By setting up a Tribute Fund, you will be helping to commemorate someone’s life and keeping their memory alive. Any funds that you raise for Guide Dogs, perhaps either at a funeral or at a special fundraising event, can be paid into the Fund. People can make donations directly into the Fund too.

Setting up a Tribute Fund can be particularly useful if you are hoping to raise £5,000 to Name a Puppy in memory of someone close to you. By raising money collectively, friends and relatives may well soon be able to reach the target.

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Is there a minimum amount you expect people to give?

No. We are grateful for every single donation we receive. It all goes towards our vital work transforming the lives of blind and partially-sighted people who rely on our services.

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Can I Name a Puppy in memory of a loved one?

Yes. If you make a donation of £5,000 or more to Guide Dogs then you will be able to Name a Puppy and play a very real part in our work. Your donation will support the puppy you’ve named from birth through to the end of the vital puppy walking stage, helping us to pay for the cost of breeding, vaccinations, vets’ bills, food and equipment. In return we will send you regular updates on your puppy’s progress and give you the chance to meet your puppy in person too. It’s a lovely way to keep someone’s memory alive into the next generation.

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How can I make a lasting memorial to a loved one?

If you would like to leave a permanent memorial to a loved one, you may want to dedicate a brick in our commemorative pathway at our puppy school at Atherton. You can write a personal dedication, your message and your loved one’s name will be seen by visitors to our centre for years to come. We are hoping to have more commemorative opportunities in the future, please call the team for further information.

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How can I show my family the difference that our donations have made?

By setting up a Tribute Fund in the name of a loved one and posting it online, your friends and family will be able to see just how much has been raised. We will let you, the Tribute Fund coordinator, know about every donation we receive and thank you for your generosity.

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Can I take part in an event to raise funds in memory?

Yes. At Guide Dogs we organise a wide range of fundraising events across the country – and throughout the year. From sponsored cycling to skydiving, you are very welcome to take part. You may prefer to organise your own event, such as a sponsored walk or a coffee morning. We’ve got a great ‘Get together for Guide Dogs’ fundraising pack to help organise your event. If you’d like a copy, please just tell us when you get in touch. If you are raising funds in memory of someone, why not set up a Tribute Fund in their name? That way all the funds you raise during the event can simply be paid into the Fund and kept together in one place.

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