Guide Dogs: How I got involved
I would like to say at the outset, that Guide Dogs has been the most rewarding and supportive organisation to have been involved with. They have lovely staff, dedicated to their dogs, and the people that we have met have become life-long friends. Guide Dogs has become part of our life.
At the end of the 1990s, Carolyn and I left the cosmopolitan buzz of Teddington, where the noise of Concorde shook the ground as it flew majestically overhead on its way to Heathrow, and breathed the much cleaner air in a thatched cottage in Shutford, a small village to the west of Banbury in north Oxfordshire. There, as you walked into the valley of the village on the quiet of a spring evening, the sound that now greeted you, was the resounding crescendo of birdsong.
We needed a dog!
Carolyn had retired from her job as an English as a Foreign Language teacher, and did daily 7 mile runs around the cottage and needed a companion.
She spotted an advert in the local Banbury Guardian, asking for volunteers to look after Guide Dog Brood Bitches. Guide Dogs paid all the bills for food, the vet, insurance and boarded the dog whilst you were on holiday. All you had to do was be prepared to have a litter of puppies in your kitchen for 6 weeks each year. As Guide Dogs pick their best dogs to breed on from (both in physique and temperament), it meant you got a really nice dog for free, and were doing something worthwhile at the same time.
Sula
Sula duly arrived. A 15 month old golden labrador, who ran round the three sides of a field, while you ran round the fourth. She was initially a most willful dog, and would stand in the middle of a field and NOT come home! We had several litters with her and she reached a grand old age of nearly 16. We even got thrown out of Harrods! Her ashes are under the apple tree.
Cracker
Cracker then arrived. A handsome 8 week old golden retriever with curly eye-lashes who was sponsored by a biscuit company! We “Puppy Walked” him until he was a year old, teaching him to poo on command, basic obedience skills and subjected him to every kind of challenge he might experience in later life, from buses, trains, supermarkets, fireworks and small children. When he left us at a year old, with much sadness, he went to a lady in Birmingham. Her family were frightened to let her out of the house, in case she fell over, but with Cracker, she regained her freedom, and ended up getting married! And Cracker brought the ring down the isle! I still get a Christmas card each year. Heartwarming proof that Guide Dogs really do change lives.
Topsy
Topsy, a small white labrador brood-bitch, arrived when Sula was about 12, as we knew that she would not go on for ever. Topsy’s mother was one of the “Seeing Eye” dogs from New York State, and I always think that this is why she is such a laid-back dog. Carolyn called her “my magic dog”. (There is an article about her sister “Truffle” on the Guide Dogs web-page about brood bitches. See ( ) ). Topsy has never barked, walks like a shadow at your side and does not pull on the lead. She is quiet, affectionate, gets worried when I leave and in times of stress likes something in her mouth. This can range from the pouch containing poo-bags on her lead, to what was once a designer teddy bear (Ted), now “much-loved” by Topsy, and well worn.
Topsy only had one litter, and nearly died in the process. She was mated with a golden retriever, and the pups were so large she could not give birth to them. One pup was born in the boot of the car on the way to the vets, where after a caesarian section, another was still born and a third pup survived. These were Happy and Honey. During the C-section, Topsy had all her reproductive bits removed, but would not stop bleeding, and needed a blood transfusion from a golden retriever who happened to be staying upstairs. Guide Dogs collected a very sick little dog at 5AM and took her to their vet in Leamington, who repeated the surgery, as the sutures were all leaking. She eventually recovered, but it was so traumatic an event, that she was retired and became our dog. We paid Guide Dogs £1.
Happy
Happy, another white-colored brood bitch, despite being half golden retriever, looks very like her mother, apart from being slightly bigger and having a broader head, with a feint black line running across her face below her eyes. In temperment, she is much more interested in the world than her Mum and lives up to her namesake and is a very loving dog. She simply likes to be in the same room as me. She has had four litters, pictures of whom are attached. One even of totally black pups, showing how dominant the black gene from the father was! She is totally unaware that Topsy is her Mum, yet they are the best of friends and play together with great spirit. Topsy is TOP DOG, and if, as usual, Happy finds a ball, she will always let Topsy thieve it off her, then stands looking hurt. Happy has a good nose, and will invariably find the most disgusting decayed rabbit or remnant of sheep carcass in a hedge, and proudly parades it. The only time that Happy lags behind, is when she has some disgusting morsel hidden in that cavernous labrador mouth, and knows that if I find it, it will disappear. (In return for a dog biscuit, for being a good girl!). Happy was retired from Guide Dogs after her fourth litter. Inflation had cut in and she cost me £25!
Walking across France. When Happy and Topsy were owned by Guide Dogs, I was not allowed to take them outside the UK, even to Ireland. So as it became a possibility that Happy would be retired in 2018, either with or without having a fifth |(discretionary) litter, I started to make plans to take them over to France. This website is the butterfly that arose from that chrysalis of an idea.
Walking across France
When Happy and Topsy were owned by Guide Dogs, I was not allowed to take them outside the UK, even to Ireland. So as it became a possibility that Happy would be retired in 2018, either with or without having a fifth |(discretionary) litter, I started to make plans to take them over to France. This website is the butterfly that arose from that chrysalis of an idea.
Guide Dogs
If I have awakened a notion that you might like to look after a Guide Dog, either for a year to “Puppy Walk”, or for long term as a brood bitch (or stud) holder, then look at the information on the Guide Dog website. (Click "Guide Dogs" above).
Teachers. Guide Dogs provide the most amazing teaching information for schools that is kept up to date with the curriculum. Again, see the website ( ).
Sponsor a Puppy. If you are not able to keep a dog, but wish to support Guide Dogs, they offer various sponsorship schemes, ranging from sponsoring a puppy, where they send out regular “Pupdates” of how the puppy is doing, right through to naming a puppy, who will go on to be a qualified Guide Dog. Often a very fitting tribute or embodiment of fond memories of someone you have loved. See ( ).