The magic of guide dogs would be impossible without the nonprofit matchmakers behind it all.

These are the 11 internationally accredited guide dog schools spread out across six states, according to the Council of U.S. Dog Guide Schools.

Jeff Bressler of the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind in Smithtown, N.Y., said the dogs are free to the blind if an applicant passes psychological testing and is mobile enough to have a need for them.

Each successful guide dog costs his institute about $30,000, he said.

The Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind breeds about 250 guide dogs each year, with about three-fourths going through schooling each year. Those that fail — about half do — can be passed onto other service jobs.

"By the time they are in school, dogs start getting this instinct they want to serve," said Bressler.

A dog who is easily distracted by smells makes for a fine candidate for bomb-sniffing, he said.

He said Labrador retrievers, golden retrievers, mixes of the two and poodles mixed with Labradors make the best mixes. German shepherds were once popular as guide dogs, but they don't respond as well to being in a kennel.

At the New York. institute and others in the country, the blind are invited to visit the campus, where they stay for about a month to train with their guide dogs.

Joan Broerman, a Center Township woman who trained there this winter, said this meant getting up at 6 a.m. to get ready for an exhaustive day of going everywhere with the dog and a trainer.

Bressler said pairing the dogs up with their masters is a highly specific process.

A large man will receive a large dog; a dog who likes to ride the train will be paired with a person living in a big city; the calmest dogs will be paired with the elderly.

"We're not manufacturing widgets where everything is the same," said Bressler, who added that for this reason the wait times for a dog can sometimes vary.

He said the standard wait is several months.

First the dogs are sent to puppy handlers when they are between 6 and 8 weeks old. A year later they are returned to the institute for schooling, which takes about four months. And when they are close to 2 years old, their life as a guide dog begins.

Guide dog is the proper term rather than "Seeing Eye," which is copyrighted by another school.