Become a Guide Dogs puppy walker
These two friendly faces were at the Kennet Centre on Thursday to help raise awareness of the Guide Dogs charity and launch an appeal to encourage potential puppy walkers to come forward.
Dogs like Drew and Major are lifelines for blind and partially-sighted people, but the dogs need the help of volunteers to give them a foundation for their futures, according to the charity.
About 1,400 labrador retrievers are specially bred by the charity each year, and live with walkers from the ages of six to seven weeks up to about a year.
In that time they will learn to walk with blind persons in shopping centres, pubs, on public transport, or anywhere else a blind person wishes to go, be it rain or shine.
Wendy Terry, from Kintbury, has been a volunteer walker for 16 years, and she said the role was incredibly fulfilling as she watched her dogs grow and go on to help blind people in their daily lives.
“People ask if it is heartbreaking when you have to leave them go after a year, and it is sad but you don’t think of it like that,” she said.
“It’s like watching your kids graduate.
“They go on to take their final exams when we have finished with them and then we can go and catch up with them later on. It’s a lovely thing to see the puppy that you were looking after is now helping a blind person go shopping. We take our sight for granted.
“The dogs give blind people life confidence and independence.”
Visit www.guidedogs.org.uk for more information on how to become a puppy walker.