By Maya Nowlan, Coordinator, Marketing and Communications, CNIB
As part of CNIB Guide Dogs' class of 2022, 16 Canadians who are blind or partially sighted are graduating with their guide dogs on International Guide Dog Day (April 27) after completing intensive training.
Whether it’s avoiding obstacles, stopping at curbs and steps or negotiating traffic, these guide dogs foster independence for people living with sight loss. In these partnerships, the handlers provide directional commands, and the dogs ensure the teams' safety. 
This year’s graduating pups were raised across Canada, with volunteer puppy raisers from Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Ontario.
"Our graduating dogs are changing the lives of Canadians with sight loss from coast to coast. As we celebrate CNIB Guide Dogs’ fifth anniversary this year, we have more than 150 dogs in the program, with 52 guide dog teams working across Canada,” says Diane Bergeron, president of CNIB Guide Dogs and guide dog handler for 38 years. "The other dogs in the program are still being raised and trained, or they've become buddy dogs or ambassador dogs. While it is everyone's hope that our pups in training will become guide dogs, the reality is not all dogs are meant to be guide dogs. Just like people, dogs have different aptitudes and they're destined for different careers."
CNIB Guide Dogs will launch its own dog-breeding program in 2022 to train Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, and crosses of the two breeds. These dogs are ideal because of their temperament, personality, and drive to please. These two breeds also have a double-layer coat, which means they can be placed anywhere in Canada and will shed according to climate. The new breeding program will enable CNIB Guide Dogs to raise, train and match more dogs with people with sight loss across Canada, and help close the gap for those waiting to be matched with their guide dog or buddy dog.
At the graduation ceremony, five buddy dog partnerships will graduate alongside the guide dog partnerships. Since launching in 2017 with just two puppies and two staff members working from home, CNIB Guide Dogs has raised, trained, and matched 77 dogs in communities across Canada, including 52 guide dogs, 19 buddy dogs, and six ambassador dogs.
The graduation ceremony can be viewed at cnib.ca/grad after 6 p.m. EDT on April 27.