Could you be a guide dog’s new best friend?
8:45am Friday 6th August 2010 in News
Could you be a guide dog’s new best friend?
THEY say a dog is a man’s best friend — and that is especially true when it comes to guide dogs.
They provide blind and partiallysighted people with love and companionship, as well as the freedom to live their lives independently.
But it can take up to two years before a puppy is fully trained and ready to become the sole carer for its owner.
In the meantime, it is down to volunteer puppy walkers to take them into their homes and become their owner for a year.
Now, the charity behind the training, Guide Dogs for the Blind, is looking for helpers in Bolton, where numbers are low.
The charity’s local training school, based at Gibfield Park Avenue in Atherton, was in Bolton town centre yesterday to give a demonstration on what it does and to recruit volunteers.
Elaine Webster, senior puppy walking supervisor, said: “The charity is looking for puppy walkers across the north, but in Greater Manchester the numbers are particularly low.”
Janet Harper, regional volunteer co-ordinator, said: “Our volunteer puppy walkers are vital because, without them, we simply wouldn’t have our guide dogs.” Volunteers look after a puppy 24-hours-a-day, from about six weeks old for around 12 months. All costs are covered by the charity.
The dog will then spend around three months training at the Atherton centre before going for advanced training in a specified area.
Nationally, the charity breeds approximately 1,300 guide dogs for training each year.
In the north, there are somewhere in the region of 350 puppies being trained at any one time.
The charity moved its centre from Bolton just over a year ago and relocated to its new, state-of-the-art training centre.
Harry Stringer, from Over Hulton, who has been a volunteer puppy walker for 10 years, was at the demonstration in Victoria Square.
Mr Stringer, aged 68, who is currently looking after his eighth puppy, seven-month-old German Shepherd Alison, said: “It’s not easy but it’s very rewarding.
“It’s a very sad day when the puppy goes in for training when it’s one year old, but there’s always a new arrival.”
Volunteers spend most of their time with their puppy and take it to public places such as restaurants, supermarkets and public transport stations.
They also meet every two weeks at the training centre for advice and support.
● Puppy walkers must be over 18 and at home most of the day, as puppies cannot be left for more than three hours each day; have suitable accommodation with easy access to an enclosed outdoor area and have regular access to a car and public transport.
