Guide dogs and people with visual impairments: an extremely important and necessary combination for the proper management of daily life for those affected by sight disorders. The importance of these animals is reaffirmed by the fourteenth edition of the National Guide Dog Day, established on 15 October by the Unione italiana ciechi e ipovedenti to draw attention to the irreplaceability of these precious companions and to promote a culture of acceptance and respect for the rules.

Guide dogs, an indispensable aid

In Italy, visual disability affects approximately 360,000 totally blind individuals and over 1.5 million people with severe visual impairments, while worldwide there are 235 million people with visual impairments, 4 per cent of the world's population, of whom 35 million are totally blind (data from the World Health Organization).

Despite the recognised value of guide dogs for blind and visually impaired people, Italy still sees many episodes of discrimination, with frequent cases in which the dog and its handler are prevented from boarding a bus or a taxi, from accessing a public place or from staying in a hotel, even though all these rights are provided for by law. It is partly for this reason that the Unione italiana ciechi e ipovedenti has produced a decalogue on how to behave in the presence of a guide dog and to raise awareness of the rights of blind people.

The days dedicated to the importance of guide dogs

In the town of Scandicci, in the province of Florence, celebrations for the Guide Dog Day and the ninetieth anniversary of the school's founding begin on Friday, 18 October. The city and the community will welcome the dogs and their handlers to reaffirm the importance of these animals and their daily work in helping visually impaired people manage the challenges of everyday life.

The Unione italiana ciechi e ipovedenti has made visual prevention one of its priorities. Among its other activities, special mention goes to the "mobile eye clinics" that frequently set up in the squares and streets of Italian cities, staffed by section personnel, ophthalmologists from the Società oftalmologica italiana and other volunteers, as well as to its commitment to the drafting and management of Law 284/97, which entrusts the regions with prevention programmes through ministerial funding.

Messina, too, with the Helen Keller centre (Polo nazionale per l'autonomia e scuola cani guida), has joined Scandicci and its training school. Dozens of other Italian towns and cities have also joined the two cities, with events and meetings dedicated to guide dogs and their fundamental role in the lives of visually impaired people.