Without doubt, one of the most dramatic and best-known service activities of Lions is the Leader Dog program. Leader Dog School was founded in 1939 by three Lions who were unable to obtain Leader Dogs from any other source. Founders were S.A. Dodge, Donald P. Schuur and Charles A. Nutting, all of whom later served as President of the Leader Dog organization. Conceived in a dream, Leader Dog has grown to be one of the largest and finest dog guide schools in the world.

The whole enterprise began, with more courage than anything else, when a few Lions from Detroit, Michigan, purchased an old farmhouse which still stands in the center of a complex now valued at over fifteen million dollars. The Leader Dog School in Rochester, Michigan, is adjacent to an estimated 45% of the nation's blind.

During its first years of operation, only a few people graduated. Approximately 275 Leader Dog teams graduate annualy. Over 12,000 Leader Dogs have been trained since the founding of the school in 1939. For over 64 years Lions and Lioness have invested untold time and effort in the Leader Dog program. Leader Dog offers its services through the Lions and Lionesses of all states to the blind. Lions and Lionesses help spread the word that blind people who want to be free and mobile can have a Leader Dog for the asking and can write in behalf of a blind candidate to obtain an application.

Leader Dogs for the Blind is located on 14 acres at the corner of Rochester Road (M-150) and Avon Road (23 Mile Road). The Leader Dog downtown Rochester training facility is located on Walnut between 3rd and 4th Streets, Lot #90.

Polk Residence & Training

The School has facilities for housing twenty four people, four instructors and a housemother. There are three recreation rooms, two laundry rooms, two dining rooms, a kitchen and two conference rooms.

Kennels

The kennels are staffed by experienced instructors, a kennel manager and assistants. There are facilities for housing 310 large dogs in tile stalls with radiant heat and individual drinking fountains.

Veterinary Hospital

A hospital with complete facilities including X-ray equipment and pharmacy is located in the center of the large kennel building. Dogs are checked regularly by the staff veterinarian.

Garages

Garages house training vans for transporting dogs daily: passenger vans and buses are used for transporting students enrolled at the Leader Dog School, plus grounds maintenance equipment.

Office

A staff of fourteen coordinates the affairs of the Leader Dog School under the supervision of the President.

Downtown Training Center

The downtown building provides a very comfortable lounge for the students while they wait their turns for training. In the lounge students will find a TV, VCR, Walkmen and some books on tape. The bus and passenger vans are driven directly into the building where the students unload. On the other end of the building there are openings for the training vans used to transport the dogs to Rochester for training. Dogs are thereby kept out of the cold or hot weather.

Staff

The Leader Dog staff is composed of 104 employees (19 part-time), 25 of whom are instructors.

Need

To meet the increasing requests for Leader Dog training it has been necessary to continually add on and build new facilities. The program is available to some 40,000 men and women who lose their sight each year. Most of them desperately want to continue being active on the job and in the community. Leader Dogs for the Blind is one of the largest producing schools of its kind in the world. The annualoperating budget is nearly $9.5 million dollars.

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