On a crisp, clear fall day near downtown Rochester, Greg Impellizzeri takes a stroll with his lanky 18-month-old golden retriever, Riley. As they approach an intersection, Riley, clad in a custom-made leather leader harness, slows to help visually impaired Impellizzeri find the curb.

At the same time the pair nears the street, a pleasant male English voice calmly announces, "Three ways, West Third Street crossing Wesley Street on your right."

Impellizzeri, who lost his vision nine months ago, pauses to consider his route, then heads straight through the intersection. He rewards Riley with kind words and a pat on the head as the pair continue on their walk.

Meanwhile, the Trekker Breeze GPS unit, which Impellizzeri holds in the palm of his other hand, periodically calls out his current location, the direction he is traveling and how far it is to the next intersection – vital information for the 32-year-old Louisville, KY, resident who might otherwise lose his way in the unfamiliar surroundings.

"It's great. It forms more of a complete picture in my mind of where I am and what's going on," said Impellizzeri, who spent a month in Rochester Hills this fall learning to use his new guide dog. "Not being from this part of the country, it really helps me learn where I'm going that much quicker."

The handheld pedestrian GPS unit is one of only a few units of its kind, and Leader Dogs for the Blind is the only guide dog school in the country that gives away a unit to each of its English-speaking students.

So far, Leader Dogs has given 229 GPS units to its students since April of 2009, though they began using the units in September of 2008. Between eight and 26 students per class receive a unit.

Meredith Newhouse, an orientation and mobility specialist for Leader Dogs for the Blind, said the units, which cost a little over $1,000 each, are paid for with donations from the nonprofit organization's supporters.  

"It puts the street signs back on the streets for everybody," Newhouse said.

Leader Dogs for the Blind, which is supported solely by donations and accepts no government assistance, has worked closely with Humanware, the Canadian* company that manufactures the Trekker Breeze, to get the product set up. Humanware also produces other devices that aid the visually impaired.

"It's a very small field, and not a lot of people produce these types of products," said Newhouse, who added that Leader Dogs is the only guide dog school to incorporate the GPS units into their training. 

The unit has only a few buttons, which vary in size and shape so they are easy to tell apart by touch alone. The largest circular button tells the user his or her current location, direction of travel and upcoming cross streets.

More than 2 million landmarks – including restaurants, schools, businesses and parks – are preprogrammed into the units, and the user also can record their own landmarks easily by pressing the football-shaped button.

Leader Dog students usually receive the unit the day after arriving at the school for the one-month program, and then they attend a Q&A about the unit a day or two after that. From then on, it is incorporated in their training while they are at Leader Dogs, and when they leave, they take the unit with them.

Impellizzeri said the GPS unit, along with Riley, has made adjusting to being visually impaired and trying to navigate unfamiliar areas much easier for him. "It helps you form that complete picture that you normally add with your vision."

To donate to Leader Dogs for the Blind, please click here.

*Correction: Humanware is based out of Canada and not France, as was originally reported. Leader Dogs is also working with a French company to develop a lighter, less expensive GPS unit, says Leader Dogs' Communications Specialist Rachelle Kniffen.