Some Dogs love to lead; some dogs love to love

Just like people, dogs have different personalities and at the Israel Guide Dog Centre we always take that into account when partnering someone with the dog who will transform their life.

Not only that but over 30 years’ experience has shown us that, while some dogs love to lead, others just want to love.

To be a successful guide dog for someone who is blind or severely vision-impaired, a dog has to be a leader. It is their job to enable their partner to move around with confidence so they can live the independent lives they crave. To do this they need to lead with total confidence, so that their partner has confidence in them. In this way, people like Sharon, who went blind when pregnant with her second child, can have their life restored to them. In Sharon’s own words: “Yasha is my soulmate! I feel I can move forward in my life now. Yasha gives me support to go wherever I want. I am so proud of her and what I’ve been able to do, and where I’ve been able to go because of her.”

Dogs that love to love also have an important role to play. Years ago, these dogs would be ‘rejected’ as unsuitable to be guide dogs. However, now we recognise that they too can transform lives by becoming support dogs for IDF veterans and Israeli civilians suffering from PTSD. These dogs bring love and light into their lives, giving them a reason to get up in the morning and comforting them when they are having a PTSD episode.

Itamar is just one veteran who has benefited in this way. His PTSD stems from his IDF service during the 2014 Operation Protective Edge in Gaza, with symptoms that include difficulty sleeping and panic attacks, being startled by loud and sudden noises, avoiding crowded places and travelling only familiar routes – all greatly restricting his options in life. Thankfully, his support dog Simon is making a real difference to his, and his family’s, life, greatly reducing his feelings of anxiety and panic. As he says: “There is no doubt Simon has helped ease the isolation I felt. I care about Simon, and he cares about me. Simon is very connected to me and by my side all the time. He is very alert when I am in distress. Being by my side, Simon provides me with a sense of security.”

And there is even a role for those dogs who may be too ‘soppy’ to support someone suffering in this way. They become a support for children with autism, bringing a sense of calm and meaning into a confusing world.

So, in different ways, each dog has a vital part to play in empowering someone to live a more meaningful and fulfilling life than would otherwise be possible. But this can only happen with your help.

It costs £45,000 to breed, train and support a guide dog. While half of the latter is provided by the Israeli government, the centre still needs to raise the other 50 per cent, as well as 90 per cent of the cost of training and supporting their guide dogs. In addition, to meet the escalating demand for both guide and PTSD dogs, following the events of October 7 and the subsequent war, there is an urgent need to invest in significantly increasing the number of dogs made available to people in desperate need. This requires investment not just in breeding more dogs but also in training more trainers as well as extending the facilities needed to house and care for the puppies as they are being trained.

So every pound donated will help to rebuild shattered lives, whether through restoring vital independence to someone who has lost their sight with a dog who loves to lead, or enabling a dog who loves to love to bring light and hope into the life of someone whose world has been devastated by PTSD.

To make a donation please go to israelguidedog.org.uk And for more information or to arrange a visit to the centre in Israel, email: tali@israelguidedog.org.uk

Registered charity 1188449