This is the third guide dog that Galantseva, 54, has had since cataracts left her legally blind 18 years ago. Her first two dogs, a collie named Gina and a German shepherd named Longa, were trained by Russia's only guide-dog school, in Kupavna, a small village to the east of Moscow.
Last year, when the school was nearly closed for lack of funds, a number of Kupavna instructors were forced to leave their jobs. This June, they put their much-needed qualifications back to work, at the Dog Assistants to Invalids center — from which Blanca, a Ca de Bou, was the very first graduate.
Blanca is a rare breed in the profession, which usually leans toward German shepherds and Labrador retrievers, Bochkovskaya said. All of the dogs selected for guide training meet strict requirements, and must be good-natured, calm, obedient and alert.
