1 Royal Victoria Hospital,
² Queens University,
³ The University of Ulster,
Northern Ireland

To establish the extent to which Guide Dog Services have developed within Europe.

A 12 point questionnaire on service provision was circulated to all known European Guide Dog Service Providers.

Fifty-two Guide Dog Providing Organisations were identified within 23 European countries. Results indicate that there are currently approximately 11,000 guide dog/owner teams active across Europe and that 1,600 new guide dogs are trained annually. The United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland utilise the largest number of guide dogs per head of population at 7.9, 5.4 and 4.3 guide dog owners per 100,000 persons, respectively.

Guide dogs are used by only a relatively small proportion of Europe’s visually impaired population.