THERE'S A CRITICAL SHORTAGE OF FOSTER HOMES FOR GUIDE DOG PUPPIES IN THE WEST COUNTRY

At this time, it’s more important than ever for us to come together, and our canine friends are no exception. In Bristol and Somerset alone, 300 volunteer carers are needed to love and nurture upcoming guide dog puppies as they grow.

This process has been put on hold due to the pandemic, so now is the perfect time to show your generous side! For the first 12-16 months of their lives, these pups need people like you who are willing and able to give them all the doses of TLC they need.

Right now there's an 18 month waiting list for any visually impaired person waiting for a guide dog.

Bridget Holyrod in Long Ashton has been look ing after guide dog puppies for more than 15 years and her current puppy Comet has been with her since July 2021.

She has to socialise him, get him used to people and traffic from a young age but also teach him slightly different things to most puppies.

She says: "If I'm in the kitchen, a puppy is quite likely to want to come and lie on my feet or behind me. And for someone with visual impairment, that would be a very dangerous situation. So the ideal thing is that the puppy goes into that basket."

She admits when the time comes it is hard to say goodby:"I think I say it every time, but he's going to be one who is very difficult to let go at the end."

But there are rewarding moments when she finds out how the dogs help other families.

Bridget says: "A woman came up to me a while ago and said 'thank you for what you're doing, my husband's gone blind'.

"They were quite a young couple with a young child, and she said he'd got very depressed and wasn't able to go out, had lost his confidence, and then he got a guide dog and it changed his life."

Volunteer coordinator

Pat Janecka says it is a demanding role, as puppy raisers cannot leave their dogs alone for more than 3 hours a day.

"We really need people who have the time to give the puppy the right training and really get into the role.

"So it will be people who hopefully work from home or are retired. It will be people who can have a pet in their own home."

There are other opportunities to foster guide dogs in evenings and weekends when they are being trained for their lives as working dogs.

Visit https://www.guidedogs.org.uk for information on how to become a volunteer.