Paws for Independence
Paws For Independence partners students with visual impairments with professionally trained guide dogs. Our certified instructors provide students and their new guide dogs with 26 days of individualized instruction at our Palmetto, Florida campus or in-home placements - and lifetime follow up and support.
Students accepted into the program spend approximately four weeks bonding and training with their new guide dog under the watchful eye of our certified instructors at a student to trainer ratio of 3 to 1. A bond of love, trust and devotion forms between the blind master and the dog as they become a team.
We provide the guide dog, equipment, single-room lodging, all meals, outings, instruction and post-graduation support completely free of charge, thanks to the generosity of our important contributors.
The average working life of a guide dog is eight years, and the majority of our graduates obtain multiple guide dogs from Southeastern Guide Dogs.
The process of developing and serving a successful guide dog team takes an average of ten years (two years of training and eight years of post-graduation services) and approximately $60,000.
Paws For Independence, like all programs at Southeastern Guide Dogs, receives no governmental funding. We rely solely on the generosity of people like you.
Please support Southeastern Guide Dogs with a tax-deductible donation, as allowed by law, or the gift of your time as a volunteer.
