A few weeks ago, our friend Benzi visited the US with his service dog Lugo and his wife Irit. We were so lucky to be hosted by incredible friends in Charlotte, Richmond, Philadelphia, and New York. Benzi served in an elite IDF Special Forces unit over 30 years ago. When discharged, he had a good job, got married, and had children. But Benzi suffered from “an invisible injury.” He successfully pushed his traumatic experiences deep down for many years, [...]
Sometimes dogs are magical! We see this so often now as our volunteer Israeli puppy-rasiers bring their 4-legged friends to provide some healing and support to displaced families, children, and patients throughout Israel. It only takes a few minutes for the magic to happen. It starts with peting the dogs, perhaps moves to giving some treats, and it ALWAYS ends with smiles. We are grateful to everyone who helps these encounters happen and look forward to continuing this important [...]
January 5th was a sad day for the entire Israel Guide Dog Center Family. We are heartbroken to announce the passing of our friend Martin Segal, Executive Director of Israel Guide Dog Centre UK For Martin, Israel and the Israel Guide Dog Center was a passion, and his infectious enthusiasm, hard work and determination made him a true leader who took the Israel Guide Dog Centre UK from strength to strength - in the process, helping many Israelis affected by [...]
A harrowing article was published on December 7, 2023 by the Jerusalem Post entitled Israeli soldiers suffer eye injuries in Gaza, many losing their vision - report. Check out the article by clicking here
How do you train a puppy to come when you call, i.e., a reliable recall? Well for one, you start by calling the puppy to you thousands of times over the first year of its life. You reinforce with a food reward 90% of the time or more. You never call the puppy to you for anything unpleasant, like a bath or a nail trim. You never call the puppy when you are angry. When the puppy comes, [...]
CanVelo - "Yes We Can!" In 2006, a group of dedicated volunteers—led by Brigadier General (ret) Moti Regev—founded CanVelo— a sports club teaming blind and sighted participants. In Hebrew, the name translates to “Yes and No” and refers to the integration of those who can and cannot see.CanVelo’s motto “Yes We Can!” sums up what we’re all about. We engage blind participants in team sports to promote social engagement and help develop feelings of belonging, accomplishment, and [...]
Meet Paige and Petra, the first recruits of the new Aliyah Puppy Brigade. Born in Florida and donated to IGDC by Southeastern Guide Dogs, Paige and Petra are being puppy-raised by two American families – one in New York City and the other in Richmond, Virginia. Being the first brave pups in the new Brigade, these two are on a mission over the next year to learn basic obedience and lots and lots of socialization. Working with their human [...]
(From left – right) Bracha Ben Avraham & Dinka, Lili Goldwein & Zita, Chief of the IDF General Staff, Lt. General Gadi Eizenkot, Dror Carmeli & Lynn, Hiyertin Demirkol & Lola, Elad Weizman, Uri Basha & Triton, Achiya Klein & Night For the past few years six of our clients have lead the March of the Living in Poland, to commemorate Holocaust Remembrance Day. The 3-kilometer march is from the concentration camp in [...]
Our puppy raisers are the best! These dedicated volunteers agree to take a puppy into their lives to socialize it, and teach important lessons of obedience – but all of it done with positive reinforcement and lots of love! Our puppy raisers also take amazing photographs which we share on social media. Most of our puppy raisers are University students who live on campus. Keep in mind, that most college students in Israel have already done their military service, [...]
