Guide Dog Foundation

Guide Dog Foundation in Smithtown, New York focuses on dogs and centers its work on guide dog and service dog training and placement. Its Smithtown campus offers a two-week in-residence guide dog training program, with home-based training available in some cases. The organization also runs puppy-raising programs and provides lifetime aftercare support for graduates, including follow-up training and veterinary support for graduate health inquiries.

Services

•Dogs only
•Guide dog training and placement for qualified applicants
•Service dog training and placement, including support for physical disabilities, PTSD, and hearing loss through America’s VetDogs
•Two-week in-residence guide dog training program in Smithtown
•Home-based guide dog training in some cases
•Lifetime aftercare support for graduates, including phone, email, in-person consultation, and follow-up training
•Veterinary support for graduate health inquiries
•Graduate support services, including advocacy and accessibility support
•Puppy-raising programs, including full-time, weekend, temporary home, co-raising, and college options
•Canine care education resources such as grooming, seasonal care, assistance dog etiquette, and emergency procedure guidance
•Facility dog program for animal-assisted therapy in group settings, with applications temporarily paused
•Does not advertise in-house emergency services

Pricing

Guide dog training and placement is offered free of charge to qualified applicants; no broader published pricing information is available.

People

Named leadership includes John Miller, President and CEO; Laura English, Chief of Staff; Grete Eide, Chief Canine Care Officer; Dawn Dioguardo, Chief Development Officer; and Bibi Ali, Chief Financial Officer.

Reviews

Google reviews show a 4.4/5 rating from 103 reviews. Recent written feedback includes positive comments from a long-term volunteer puppy raiser and from a graduate of the two-week training program, with praise for staff professionalism, compassion, organization, and individualized matching. One recent negative review describes inconsistent communication, delays, disorganization, and concerns about empathy during the admissions process.

Reviews for Guide Dog Foundation

Note: Showing the 5 most recent Google reviews out of 103 we track in total. Recent reviews may not be representative of overall sentiment.

Eric Newton

5 months ago

We've been volunteer puppy raisers for the GDF for almost 10 years. We drove up from Baltimore to see our 8th puppy before her home placement as a working guide dog. The staff and volunteers have been wonderful. I'm not crying, I just have something in my eye.

Holly Eschrich

6 months ago

Brian Jones

I recently attended the Guide Dog Foundation’s two-week training program and received my first guide dog. The staff and volunteers at this facility are absolutely incredible, professional, compassionate, and truly dedicated to what they do. Every aspect of the program was thorough, well-organized, and personalized to meet my needs. My dog is the perfect match for me; our walking speeds and personalities align so naturally, it feels like fate. I can’t say enough good things about this organization—they are simply the best in the industry when it comes to guide dog training and support.

Jennifer J

9 months ago

I was trying to rate guide dog foundation a zero , however, The app does not allow for it. I have been working with them for the past year and throughout the process communication has been inconsistent and often delayed messages. Many questions were frequently left unanswered for extended periods of time which caused significant delays. on occasion, I was accused of actions that were not true. Such as sending information multiple times or ask to resend information multiple times and then accusing me of sending information multiple times when they ask me to resend it. It was in their spam box. Or they never even looked at the information. Also, I had let them know. I was having computer issues from my end however , they were not empathetic or sympathetic to this. You think that they would be more understanding and try to make the process a lot less difficult and make it easy for somebody who has a impairment, and maybe even take the information over the phone or send you all the information together or not in bits and pieces however, they have made the process difficult and complicated. Also, they had me speaking to multiple people at once when they had told me I was gonna be with one person. Which also led to a lot of of confusion and disorganization. Additionally, there had been a lack of empathy or sympathy for my visual impairment or any kind of cooperation . They honestly made it very difficult to complete the admission process efficiently and professionally and added unnecessary stress in time to what should have been a straightforward process. Based on my experience, I would not recommend working with Guide Dog at all. I think the concept of wanting to help people Who are Blind or Visually Impaired is wonderful , however, the people at this organization I have found to be very uncooperative and unprofessional. Also, another incident that occurred, that is very upsetting, they asked me if I took medication. I told them no, and they didn’t believe me and started accusing me of not being honest, I provided them honest responses and information, also provided From doctors and professionals-however, nonetheless, they did not believe me. even when provided proof from doctors. They denied me which is kind of a relief. I don’t recommend working with a company or organization that would not trust the person that they are trying to help or believe in the person they’re trying to help. I do not recommend working with them at all. I think that they definitely need improvements on their communication, professionalism and cooperation. or let’s say miscommunication or lack of cooperation. Very disorganized organization I feel…

Carlos Ulloa

10 months ago