The Huikuang Guide Dog Foundation Taiwan has sent South Korea and Hong Kong a gift of three trainee guide dogs each under an exchange program, the head of the foundation's training school said Saturday.
To broaden the diversity and improve the quality of the guide dog breed, the foundation has donated six of its 25 puppies born this year, said Tseng Han-lin (曾瀚霖), who runs the dog training school.
Three 5-month-old puppies were given to the Hong Kong Guide Dogs Association in July, and three others were donated to the Samsung Guide Dog School in South Korea between September and October, the foundation said.
Meanwhile, the foundation said it has 19 puppies in training to help supplement the number of trained guide dogs in Taiwan, which was 41 as of September, in a visually impaired population of 60,000.
The foundation said it has been attending pet fairs and seeking donations from the public, which have fallen amid the COVID-19 outbreak.
Set up in 1991, the foundation established Taiwan's first government accredited guide dog training school, but it receives no government funding.