One of our ‘pet’ projects at the Israel Guide Dog Centre is our work with pre-school children with vision impairments at Eliya day care centres.
Eliya operates six rehabilitation day care centres across Israel, for children aged 6 months to 6 years who are blind or visually impaired.
Now, after a 2-year Covid break, we are so delighted to resume this programme.
Twice a month, our doggies and volunteers go to visit the children in the day care centres, to expose them to the world of dogs and prepare them to partner with guide dogs in the future should they choose to.
Eliya CEO Michael Segal explains: “By stroking the dogs and feeling them and basically getting to know what a dog is and how to relate to it, our children essentially establish trust. Trust is the first and most important step in this human-guide dog relationship.”