Fostering a guide dog

The rewards of fostering for national charity Guide Dogs

By Nicola Merrick

Lucky enough to be fosterers for Guide Dogs since 2019, we have fostered seven wonderful life changers.

A fosterer provides a home to the dogs whilst in training at regional centres. We drop them off at ‘school’ in the morning and collect later that day to come home and relax. At the weekends, we take them out on free runs. This is when they are allowed off lead to play.

Unice

Unice, our first, arrived two weeks before Christmas 2019. She was a black retriever Labrador cross – apart from overexcitement with other dogs and their tennis balls, she was a perfect introduction to our foster journey, staying with us for four months before leaving us to qualify and start work.

Bumble

A beautiful clever black Labrador named Bumble arrived in July 2020. She was very intelligent but could be lazy so needed encouragement to run. I soon realised how different each dog would be. She qualified two months ahead of schedule.

Poppy

Poppy was a complete contrast. An attractive golden retriever – incredibly affectionate and a lot of fun. But with the fun, came challenges, mostly around car travel and frequent barking. Sadly, the decision was made to withdraw her from training and she returned to her puppy raiser to become their pet, leaving a large hole in our hearts.

To fill a big hole, you need a big dog, and Liam did just that, my loveable lump. Arriving in April – a giant yellow Labrador – he liked his own space and would take himself off to the kitchen and curl up in his bed away from it all. He has now also qualified.

Liam left on the Tuesday and Cooper, a black Labrador, arrived on the Friday. The first week was a challenge as he didn’t sleep –worse than having a baby with sleepless nights. Thankfully, he quickly settled down and slept through. He has now also qualified.

Flossie

Flossie, a black retriever German shepherd cross, stole our hearts from the moment she arrived. She was incredibly affectionate but also very reactive, therefore easily distracted and consequently withdrawn from training.

Tony

Our current dog, Tony, a loveable yellow Labrador, is full of puppy fun. It is early days with him but I think he will become an excellent guide dog.

They have all been wonderful. It’s very hard to say goodbye but we know it is for such a good cause.

For more details about fostering, please see: https://www.guidedogs. org.uk/how-you-can-help/ volunteering-for-guide-dogs/ volunteer-role-descriptions/fosterer/