A helping hand for Guide dogs

GUIDE Dogs for the Blind Association puppy walkers like Carol Ann Bullman are getting new help from train operating company c2c.

Mrs Bullman, seen here with her seven-month-old Golden Retriever puppy Heather, is one of a select band of Essex volunteers who take care of socialisation training for guide dogs.

From the age of six weeks when they are handed over to the volunteers, until the dogs are a year old, they travel everywhere with their puppy walker and are introduced to the basic things they may encounter in their life as a guide dog. This includes road traffic noise, trains and railway stations, buses, supermarkets, escalators and stairs.

As part of this early training programme, Mrs Bullman and husband Mike take Heather onto c2c's station at Upminster and onto trains for occasional journeys to London. So, in order to sponsor the programme, c2c is now issuing them and other Guide Dogs for the Blind Association puppy walkers free off-peak travel for this purpose.

Mrs Bullman, of Elm Avenue, Upminster, said: "It's very helpful and supportive of c2c to sponsor our journeys in this way. Heather is pretty relaxed around the station and train environment and it's very important we introduce her to the railway and make her comfortable using it, as her future owner may be a regular train user.

"I literally take Heather everywhere with me and she is fine, learning and adapting quickly. The only thing that startles her at the moment is if a lorry goes by on the road and brakes sharply, making a loud noise. This can cause her to jump back away from the road, but if you just make a reassuring sound and pass it off as nothing of concern she knows just to keep on walking and not be put off.

"The puppy walking scheme is tremendous for people like me who just adore dogs. Heather is my third puppy and you can be eligible to become a walker for the Association if you are able to devote time to socialising a pup. The pups should certainly not be left alone for more than three hours at a time, and also you must be able to drive a car and have a safe and enclosed garden. The Association pays for all the puppy's food and vet's bills."

When they are a year old the socialised dogs are taken to the Association's Redbridge Training Centre in Woodford Green to complete their training, which takes approximately six months. They are then ready to be paired up with their visually-impaired owners for a three-week comprehensive training programme before returning to their permanent homes. c2c Marketing Manager Sara Lane said: "The work of the Association and the puppy walkers is of great benefit to blind people in our community and we are pleased to be able to offer them the opportunity of free travel on our services for this vital training."

With 11,300 people in Essex registered as visually impaired and over 150 local people benefiting from mobility with guide dogs, the Association is always on the lookout for new volunteer puppy walkers to join the 70 Essex foster families now on their books. Anyone interested in volunteering can contact Graham Poole, The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, Redbridge Training Centre, Findlay House, 7 Manor Road, Woodford Green, Essex IG8 8ER.