TV SCOPE: At one time or another most of us have seen and admired the synergy between a guide dog and its owner. We see a relationship that has culminated in a blind person striding out with confidence because of the unconditional trust they have in their dog. And for many of us it confirms our most romantic notion about man's best friend - those years of Lassie re-runs built up during our childhood.
However, this thoughtful documentary demystifies the guide dog training process and refuses to allow us indulge in any anthropomorphic fantasies.
Instead, it highlights the sheer hard work, skill and sensitivity required to breed and train these magnificent animals. And the ongoing commitment and discipline needed from owners to maintain and develop their unique relationship with their guide dog.
But above all, this programme shows us without sentimentality how guide dogs can transform life for people with a visual impairment.
Ireland's only guide-dog training centre is in Cork and we follow the progress of three visually impaired people as they finally meet their guide dogs and live and train together for three weeks in the centre. The previous 18-month training is explained.
Newborn Labrador crossed with Golden Retriever puppies are placed with volunteer foster families for their first year of gentle training before they return to the centre for an intensive six-month training course with a mobility instructor.
It is only then that they are matched and introduced to their prospective owners. Derry Lawlor, a civil servant from Dublin, blinded 20 years ago by a brain tumour, travels to the Cork centre and is introduced to Lottie by mobility instructor Rhea Eswer.
"I'm so delighted I feel sick. But it's good sick," he gives an embarrassed laugh and explains, "I now have an extension to my left arm - a set of eyes at my feet."
And Mairead O'Mahony, a 20-year-old student blind from birth, is introduced to her lively dog Quilty - "they try to match our personalities and walking speeds". Her mobility instructor, Eoin Slattery, elaborates: "Her dog is active but Mairead is young and single and has the time, so she should be able for her."
And finally Sean O'Connell, blinded several years ago by diabetes, speaks pragmatically of "the working relationship" between dog and owner, that is until he meets and gets to know Emmett a little, and then he confides, "This means everything to me - it's my freedom."
For the remainder of the programme we see their first faltering steps in unison as dog and owner, under the tutelage of their instructor, learning to navigate the streets, buses and shopping centres of a busy urban minefield. Thoughtlessly parked cars block pavements, impervious and impenetrable groups of teenagers hog the footpaths, street artists choose access points at crossroads to gather crowds, and mechanical road sweepers and building machinery provide an ever-changing daily challenge.
And in the midst of this nightmare what appears to be marauding groups of vagrant domestic mutts do their utmost to distract the guide dogs from their work.
An irritated Rhea Eswer voices her frustration. "People own these dogs and I don't understand why they can't be more responsible." She explains that over 48 per cent of guide dogs fail because they are distracted by other loose dogs.
But despite all the hazards and impediments placed in their way, the three individual teams slowly gain confidence and eventually go home together. In the final scene, Eoin Slattery pays one of several home visits to Sean and Emmett. He explains that it can take up to a year for the guide dog and owner to become fully attuned, but nodding towards Sean, he smiles. "He knows it's going to work out. That's a satisfactory outcome!"
Marianne O'Malley is a freelance writer who specialises in disability issues.