Most of you know I have a soft spot for Guide Dogs for the Blind, my favorite charity. Love the dogs, love the people behind the dogs. This is a little bit of interesting info about GDB that I thought you’d like to know…
1. Number of Active Teams: 2,200
2. Number of Graduates a Year: Around 340
3. Average Life of a Guide Dog Team: Over 7 years
4. Annual Cost of Veterinary Program: $2.6 million per year
5. Breeds and Numbers of Dogs: 160 dogs in breeding colony/900 puppies in homes
More than 80% are Labrador Retrievers. Lab/Golden Crosses, and Golden Retrievers are also used. Around half become Guide Dogs
6. Length of Training: Length of Training for Dogs: approximately 3 months
Length of Training for Students: between 2–4 weeks
7. Average Age of Students: Around 50 years of age (Students have ranged from 14–92 years)
8. Employment Rate for Graduates: About a third are employed
9. Number of GDB Staff/Volunteers on Both Campuses: 289 employees and 800 campus volunteers
10. Annual Operating Budget and Percentage Spent on Core Program vs. Administration:
$30 million annual operating budget
82.9% core program vs. 17.1% administration
11. Cost of a Guide Dog Team: When all costs are factored in, the total may exceed $65,000
12. Cost to the Students: Zero. All expenses are covered by donations to GDB
How interesting. I think the best part is that the students don't pay a dime! What a gift of independence!!
Hi Suzanne,
I have a totally blind daughter, Tatiana. She is 6 years old. Someday, hopefully she will have the opportunity to own one of these wonderful dogs! I own a blog myself and love to do book reviews. I am very interested in your books about the Amish and the book about the guide dog. If you have the chance please stop by my blog some time and leave a comment. Thanks so much! I look forward to hearing from you.
~Crystal aka Finamoon