Fact file

Our partnerships and dogs

• The average working life of a guide dog is six to seven years.

• There are around 4,500 guide dog owners in the UK.

• We are currently responsible for around 8,000 dogs.

• We plan to produce 900 new guide dog partnerships by 2015.

• We breed more than 1,200 guide dog pups each year.

• Guide Dogs aims to be supporting 6,500 partnerships by 2020.

Our recent headline achievements

• In 2010, 20% of the children we provided Vision Support Services to were from black and minority ethnic communities.

• We trained 791 guide dog owners in 2010, of which 33% were new clients.

• Two key campaigns for us in 2010 were Say NO to Shared Streets and Talking Buses.

• In 2009, we awarded four new grants for research teams at leading UK universities, at a total cost of £746,000.

Our money

• The guide dog service receives no government funding and depends entirely upon public support.

• It costs £5 per day to support each working guide dog partnership.

• The lifetime cost of a guide dog is around £50,000

Our work beyond guide dogs

• We work with councils across the UK to ensure that their streets are safe to all members of the public.

• We help around 1,300 adults and children each year through our Vision Support Services - a range of mobility and other rehabilitation services that improve a person's skills and confidence.

• We regularly fund ophthalmic research projects with the aim of preserving residual vision.