Our guide dog helped her owner for six years, and after her retirement, her owner will help her. We visited Sáfrány Írisz and Dolly at their home in Győr.

Dolly, the guide dog, underwent spinal surgery in the autumn of 2024. At first, it seemed that everything would be fine and that she could return to her work. She worked for a few months, but her owner, Írisz Sáfrány, soon noticed that the daily demands made her very tired. She slowed down, and it became difficult for her to assist with transportation. At that time, Dolly’s trainer, Mária Nyíriné Kovács, travelled to Győr to see how her former student was doing. It was then that it became clear: Dolly was ready for retirement.

Dolly’s spinal surgery made sense because it relieved the pain that had been bothering her day and night, but it did not allow the ever-helpful Labrador to continue working.

Our guide dog’s back after surgery

Dolly is one of our dogs — trained by the Baráthegyi Guide and Assistance Dog School Foundation. As in similar cases, we covered the cost of the surgery and other high medical expenses, which amounted to approximately half a million forints. Írisz said she would not have been able to afford this on her own.

It was time to decide quickly where Dolly would spend her retirement years

According to our foundation’s regulations, when a guide dog retires, visually impaired owners may keep their dog if they are able to do so. Like many others, Írisz chose to have Dolly remain with them in their home in Győr.

At their home after retirement

“I asked the foundation to let Dolly stay with us. I love her very much. I know her best. I know what she needs, when and where. I want to be by her side for the rest of her life — not only while she helps me, but now I want to help her.”

Írisz says that anyone who doesn’t know Dolly had spinal surgery would not even notice it today — for example, she can roll onto her back again — but this required great care and attention.

“I take her for walks twice a day. I exercise her legs so her muscles don’t weaken too much. We give her everything she needs. She helped me in my daily life for six years, and I am very grateful for that. I hope she will stay with us for a long time.”

Iris walks Dolly on the embankment near her home. Now she looks after Dolly with a white cane in her hand

The leash has replaced the guide harness

A young guide dog is coming soon

Írisz applied for a new guide dog because she no longer wants to use a white cane. According to her, she owes her attitude to her mother, who tied her independence to the dog. When she was a child, her mother told her that she would only let her go alone if she had a guide dog. Thus began Írisz’s adventurous life with dogs.

“I was 15 when I got my first guide dog. Now I can safely say that I have been traveling with a four-legged partner for 32 years, but I think the best of them all was my sixth dog, Dolly. She has a very good sense of direction and can even recognize routes she has already taken when traveling in a car or bus. That’s how I know she sits up from lying down and pays attention. I don’t like the stumbling life, I got used to guide dogs.”

Our guide dog led her owner reliably and with great knowledge

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly”

Their relationship is so close that Írisz discusses Dolly extensively in her published autobiography, and later had a separate book published about her.

All two thousand copies of the book were sold

An excerpt from the autobiography “It is only with the heart that I can see rightly”: “My parents had to make a decision when I was a child: I would die or I would live, but I would go blind.” After this shocking sentence, it is perhaps surprising what a light-hearted, humorous book Írisz has written. She authentically conveys her wisdom of life, while keeping the reader cheerful, even though Írisz did not have an easy fate. As a blind child, she struggled with a serious illness, school was harsh, and her adult life was a struggle. We also learn a lot about her guide dogs, making it an unputdownable read. We can learn a lot from it about what it was like to live as a visually impaired person in Hungary over the past four decades.

Dolly is taking her well-deserved rest

The Írisz-Dolly guide team has given us the subject of many articles, including stories about the beginnings and Dolly’s recovery after surgery.

How do our guide dogs spend their retirement years?

Many people ask us this question, so we have summarized how it is decided where a guide dog spends its retirement years.

Some visually impaired owners keep their retired guide dogs. But not everyone can do this due to financial and other life circumstances, such as when they would not be able to properly care for the older dog in its beautiful retirement years with their new guide dog. The foundation then asks those closest to the dog. The retired guide dog often moves back to its puppy raisers, to the residence where it was cared for until it was one year old. In the familiar home environment, it almost rejuvenates and spends more meaningful years.

The Baráthegyi Guide Dog School celebrates its 20th anniversary

The Baráthegyi Guide and Assistance Dog School Foundation began operating in 2006. Over two decades, we have provided more than two hundred guide dogs to our visually impaired applicants, and in recent years we have also been involved in the training of personal assistance, assistance dogs for the disabled and therapy dogs.

The most important result of the 20 years is that we have always provided our guide dogs to visually impaired applicants free of charge, and we will continue to do so in the future. Professionally, we help guide teams travel safely, cover the dogs’ higher healthcare costs, and ensure their happy retirement years.

How much does a guide dog cost?

There is a need for more guide dogs in Hungary. Many people are waiting for a loyal guide dog at our foundation. There are an average of 40-50 people on our waiting list. According to our plans, 30 puppies will be born in our breeding program each year, which can become guide dogs next year.

The total lifetime cost of a guide dog is more than 6 million HUF.

The working life of dogs is approximately 10 years, the total cost of which is: breeding dogs, breeding, raising puppies, screenings, medical costs, care, equipment, training (the labour cost of this is 2 million HUF), training the owner; handover, examination, follow-up and care for ten years, replacement of equipment, extra medical costs for an aging dog, costs around retirement, in the meantime, utilities, vehicle use, etc. Thus, the total cost for ten years will be more than 6 million HUF.

Our foundation always provides its guide dogs to visually impaired applicants free of charge. The amount required for training is raised from 1% of personal income taxes and other donations.

Many people all over the country are waiting for our guide dogs!

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

Our tax number: 18449149–1–05

Baráthegyi Guide and Assistance Dog School Foundation

You can now donate 1% of your personal income tax on the NAV (NTCA – National Tax and Customs Administration of Hungary) online interface by logging in here on your customer portal.

Our 1% Tax Information