Even without being asked Noé knew how he could help his owner. A guide dog is capable of doing things his master will never forget. International Day of Guide Dogs is celebrated on 27 April. In honour of this we have made a seven-part series of articles. The first one will be Dóri and Noé’s story.

Dóra Pozsgay made up her mind to learn to weave on a shuttle loom. To do so she had to commute to Makó. What we would like to tell here is that our friends supported by a guide dog can try a lot of things since there are no obstacles in traffic they cannot cope with, which is a great advantage in life.

At this point we let Dóri tell you one of her interesting adventures with Noé.

„I usually set off with a pack from which I also had some left on my way back. The training took place in a dormitory which was close to the bus station, but for a distance of a good walk. One day on our way home going to the bus station Noé did something I will never forget.

When we set off I already felt that something was wrong with my boots. It is very important for me  that my shoes hold my ankle tight because it is quite loose. We had taken about the one quarter of our 20-minute walk when I felt a terrible pain in my right ankle so I often had to stop. The route is not difficult because we only go sraight then after passing three pedestrian crossings we turn right and there cross a bigger pedestrian crossing with some sidewalk islands.

Before taking the third pedestrian crossing there is a building with columns among which we have to slalom. It is a checkpoint for me to know where we are. That day however before slaloming  Noé started to pull right hard. He wanted to go that way. I knew we had not been at the columns yet and did not understand what he wanted. With the help a video call I got to know that he took me to a pedestrian crossing that I knew was not the one we had to cross. Nevertheless it was impossible to get Noé to turn in other direction, he wanted to guide me that way by all means.

A said to him, that OK we could cross hoping we get closer to the bus station. As soos as we had crossed the road he made the lead again and started to pull left. For a while we went staright then suddenly he stopped and sat down as if completed his task.

As usual I tried to figure out  with my leg where we could be: as I was groping forward my leg hit a metal frame. Groping onward I realized that I was standing in front of a bench. As soon as I had sat down Noé was dancing with joy. He nestled his head in my belly  and started to kiss me wagging his tail. I do not know how he could feel that I had a pain in my ankle but  since then as sooon as he can see a bench he takes me there by all means  if it is necessary or not and he is happy only if I sit on it.”

There are miracles if we work hard for them

Darinka Farkas, Noé’s trainer was not surprised by her trained  dog’s behaviour.”Noé really felt that Dóri had been exhausted. He strongly resonated to Dóri from the very first moment. When they first met I experienced on their first walk together that the dog stood by Dóri and started to guide her and correct her imbalance  as if he wanted to communicate they had always belonged to each other. I really do not want to mystify it but there are similar experiences.”

Darinka told us that the seizure alert dogs resonate to their owner in a similar way. If humans and dogs are tuned to each other, miraculous things  can happen. These stories are about dogs who are socially sensitive and incredibly connected to their owners. They continuously detect their owners and after a while they become two bodies and one soul. „With a guide dog and his owner it is even stonger, I think,  because the dogs can react to their owner’s condition more sensitively with their sense of duty.”

This year, we are celebrating our 20th anniversary. Over the past two decades, we have provided more than 200 guide dogs to those in need, free of charge.

Please support their training with 1% of your income tax! Tax ID (Adószám): 18449149–1–05 Organization: Baráthegyi Guide Dog and Service Dog School Foundation

If you provide your mailing address, we will send you our next year’s guide dog calendar along with our letter of thanks. The simplest way to donate your 1% is online, through the NAV portal via the “Ügyfélkapu” (Client Gateway).

Interesting Facts

What is weaving on a shifting frame, and how does a visually impaired person ask for help over the phone if they get lost while traveling?

Dear Reader, you may not have heard of shifting frame weaving before, so Dóri will summarize how it works. Using a wooden frame, she alternates between the warp threads, carrying the yarn first from the right and then from the left. The final product is created from these multiple overlapping layers of yarn.

Dóri began learning this craft because, despite a long search, she was unable to find employment. Since she had been interested in weaving for a long time, she thought it could be a way to earn some extra income. She is eager to improve her technique; she can currently “warp” the frame (setting up the “backbone” of the weaving) on her own. She works with a medium-sized (36 x 88 cm) and a larger (47.5 x 88 cm) frame, though she still faces some challenges when setting up and taking the finished pieces off the frame. She travels all the way to Makó for lessons because she couldn’t find a workshop in Budapest willing to teach a visually impaired student. Dóri plans to make small tablecloths and bags to order, and she hopes to eventually use her earnings to support the training of guide dogs.

Phone assistance means that when navigating unfamiliar places, Dóri uses the Távszem (a Hungarian remote visual assistance service) and BeMyEyes apps. However, there are times when these don’t provide enough information. In such cases, she resolves the situation with the help of passers-by or by calling her mother for assistance.