Updated Census of Assistance Dogs in Europe

Judith Jones reported on the project to update and improve the survey done in 2013-14 which aims to have the most accurate census possible, using the six types of assistance dogs defined by CEN/TC452 WG1.  It will consolidate the results by country, including total number of partnerships and number of new partnerships each year.  Results will be by country of residence of the partnership, not by country where trained.

EGDF has updated the list of schools and user groups for each country; where none exist, they have identified organisations of the blind or disability organisations.  A coordinator in each country will help validate the results.  The questionnaire must identify the respondent to ensure completeness and avoid duplication but the results will be aggregated by country.

The survey results will be available on the EGDF website, as well as a directory of training and user organisations throughout Europe.  The results will enable EGDF and their partners to identify countries with critical need of assistance dogs and work to fulfil them.  It will validate EGDF campaigning with ammunition and authority.