Krisztián traveled here to us to start to prepare for the traffic safety exam with his guide dog, Nina. The visually impaired man lost his sight 16 years ago as a result of an accident at his workplace. He had lots of eye surgery over the years. In the meantime, he learned to walk with a white cane in the Elementary Rehabilitation Group for the Blind. One of his surgeries was so successful that Krisztián was able to travel by himself without any assistive devices. However, three years after the operation his vision began to deteriorate again to the extent that now he perceives only figures and only in adequate amount of light. Then Krisztián did not return to the white cane, travelled only with the help of sighted people, but longed for independence. His good friend, Zsolt, has been using a guide dog for decades; due to his stories and experiences, Krisztián decided to apply for a guide dog at our foundation.

After a long wait, he met Nina, the wonderful Labrador, at the beginning of July and came to us in Miskolc for the one-week residential course.

This is what Krisztián tells about the week spent with us:

“Nina is a very smart, cute and calm dog. During the week spent in Miskolc we got to know each other more and more every day. Together we climbed an incredibly long flights of stairs, where I felt completely safe with her. Then came a forest, where she proved in the hilly terrain that she takes care of me. Then we discovered the streets of Miskolc by bus and tram. Of course, at every task, we were accompanied by Dr. Tamás Mezősi, the president of the foundation, and Gyöngyvér Mikola, Nina’s trainer. I know we still need to learn a lot, but I already set off more boldly and feel much more independent with Nina than with a white cane ever.”