If someone asks me what my guide dog means to me, I always say: freedom, independence, confidence, safety, and a partner I can count on 24 hours a day. In our series launched for International Guide Dog Day, our foundation’s staff member, Zoltán Vida, writes about the three guide dogs of his life.

I experienced these feelings for the first time with Borcsa, my first guide dog. I owe her a lot anyway, because it was through her that I came into contact with her training organization, the Baráthegy Guide and Service Dog School Foundation, where I later found employment and met my ex-wife. So, it was Borcsa who set me on the path toward my current life.

“Borcsa flipped up her tail and we were off”

And why did I write at the beginning that a guide dog means independence and freedom?

It happened with Borcsa that I got off a train in Miskolc and had only two minutes to catch my bus. You have to understand that I got off at the very last platform, and the bus stop is quite far away. You have to go through the underpass and emerge at the final staircase to reach the bus stop. There was a huge crowd and we had a long way to go, but I thought, let’s try it and see if we can make it. I was having a bit of trouble orienting myself because the crowds and noise made it hard to tell exactly where I was, but I told Borcsa, “Let’s go to the bus stop.” I felt something hit my thigh-wait, what was that?-Borcsa had flipped her tail up, and we were off. I didn’t actually feel anything about what was around me, how many people there were, or what obstacles existed; I only felt that we had started moving very quickly and confidently. We managed to catch the bus. That was the first time I truly felt the freedom and confidence such a dog provides, because with a white cane, solving that situation would have certainly taken much longer.

“What stayed with me was Fanni’s consistently reliable presence”

Borcsa retired early and left a great void behind. Fanni had to fill the gap left by the loss of my independence and confidence, and she succeeded completely.

I couldn’t highlight just one single story about her. What stayed with me was her stable and always reliable presence-that she was predictably there with me in both the most ordinary and the most difficult situations.

“Rizling has everything I expect from a dog”

After Fanni’s sudden death came Rizling, who had a completely different temperament than Fanni. He combined the best qualities of Borcsa and Fanni: stability, confidence, and a genuine love for working.

Rizling was able to stand by me during a very difficult time: my wife and I divorced, and I had to build a completely new life in a new apartment, all alone. It was a very frightening situation for me, but Rizling’s devotion-the fact that he was by my side 24 hours a day-helped me start rebuilding my life while maintaining my independence.

I trust that these three stories have conveyed why I wrote in the first sentence that a guide dog means freedom, independence, confidence, and safety to me-a partner I can count on around the clock.

It is a great joy for me that all three of my dogs were trained by the Baráthegy Guide and Service Dog School.

The cover photo shows Zoltán and Rizling.

This year we celebrate our 20th anniversary. Over the past two decades, we have provided more than 200 assistance dogs free of charge.

Please support their training with 1% of your personal income tax!

Our tax number for 1% donation: 18449149–1–05

Baráthegyi Guide and Assistance Dog School Foundation

If you provide your mailing address, we will also send you our guide dog calendar for next

year in the thank you letter.

The easiest way to donate 1% of your personal income tax is through the National Tax and

Customs Administration of Hungary (NTCA /NAV) online interface, via the customer portal.