Nearly 2,000 Californians use guide dogs.

Almost 20 percent of all guide dog handlers live in California.

The handler uses about 20 different commands to direct the dog. The dog, trained through repetition and praise, will disobey a command and signal through its rigid harness when it's unsafe to proceed.

You should never pet a working guide dog without asking the handler's permission.

Puppy raisers are volunteers who care for, train, and socialize guide dog puppies. A puppy lives with a puppy raiser for 15 to 18 months.

Guide dogs spend eight to ten months in training before meeting their human partners. Blind handlers spend about one month training with their dogs.

Like all dogs, guide dogs enjoy playing when they're not working.

Guide dogs work for about eight to ten years. They usually start working at the age of two-and-a-half.

Dogs that don't succeed as guide dogs are "career change" dogs. They become service or therapy dogs, search and rescue dogs, or family pets.