Completing professional training does not mean a guide dog is immediately ready to accompany a visually impaired person. The dog must first be matched with a suitable partner, and the two must learn to walk and live together. Few understand this process better than Yoo Seok-jong of Samsung Guide Dog School. Born with a visual impairment, Yoo now lives with his fifth guide dog. Drawing on his own experience, he helps visually impaired people find dogs suited to their needs and lifestyles. During an interview at the school in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 2, Yoo was accompanied by Gori, a 5-year-old demonstration dog. Yoo's own guide dog was at a veterinary clinic after falling ill that morning. Friendly and sociable, Gori normally helps introduce visitors to guide dogs and accompanies visually impaired people on trial walks. Yoo said one of the most important factors in matching a guide dog with a prospective partner is walking speed. "The person's walking speed needs to match the dog's natural pace," he said. "Trying to force either one to adjust can be difficult." Temperament is equa