Guide dogs for the blind, over 130 people on the waiting list

In Italy there are at least 130 blind or visually impaired people currently on the waiting list to receive a guide dog, a fundamental ally for their autonomy and freedom of movement. This is what the Lions Guide Dogs and Mobility Aids for the Blind Service reports, which manages one of the main training centers for guide dogs in Italy and which, on the occasion of Sight Month, drew attention to the need to invest in this activity.

The Lions Center is located in Limbiate, in the province of Monza and Brianza, and in 60 years of activity it has trained and entrusted almost 2,300 guide dogs. Every year, an average of 40 copies are delivered free of charge to people residing throughout the national territory, but the current training capacity is not able to fully satisfy all the requests received. "Reducing the waiting list means starting more dogs for training and having them arrive, at the end of a complex path, to those who requested them", explains Marco D'Auria, president of the Guide Dog Service of the Lions of Limbiate.

After birth, the puppies, mainly of the Labrador breed, are entrusted to volunteer families who take care of their socialization and basic education until they are one year old. At that point they return to the Limbiate Centre, where they begin specific training which lasts an average of six months. Thanks to a non-coercive method, the dog learns to move in complex contexts: to avoid obstacles, to cross the road, to use means of transport. Once training is completed, the dog is matched with the person on the waiting list based on the affinity of each other's characteristics and needs. The recipient of the animal is then hosted free of charge at the Limbiate Center for a period of about a week to learn to live with the guide dog. "Behind every delivery there are families, Puppy Walkers, trainers and veterinarians, with significant costs borne in recent years by Lions members and all those who have chosen to contribute", adds D'Auria. "Today there are over 130 people waiting; we can still do to shorten the time: this is why we ask everyone to help us, within the limits of their possibilities".