‘My Four-Legged Shadow’ by Elin Williams

It was the 6^th of January 2015, I was sat on the floor in my room feeling excited, nervous but mostly overwhelmed. Dave my Guide Dogs mobility instructor (GDMI) and Adam, the Guide Dogs trainer, had left me alone with a 28kg bundle of energy who was bouncing around my room and sniffing everything in reach. This was D Day; the day I started training to become a guide dog owner (GDO).

            The bouncing bundle of fur in question is a cheeky, sensitive, beautiful black Labrador retriever cross called Jazzy.

 We qualified as a partnership on the 26^th of January after three weeks of intensive training during which I learned how to feed her, spend her, groom her, play with her, work her and basically take care of her. It was a bit of a culture shock to say the least, the early morning trips to the spending pen (where she does her business) were especially gruelling in freezing January! Never the less we got to know each other quickly and soon settled into a routine.

For those who don’t know, a guide dog undergoes around 18 months of training before being matched with a visually impaired person. They stay with a foster family for the first year or so to be socialised and learn basic obedience, then they receive advanced training from qualified Guide Dogs staff. Their advanced training teaches them to work when they’re in harness which is when they’re doing the actual guiding. This means always walking on the left of their handler, walking in straight lines, stopping at kerbs and recognising directions such as ‘left’ and ‘right’. They’re also taught to be aware of the handler’s right shoulder so that they can assess if a space is big enough for themselves and their handler to get through without collision. Guide dogs are kept on a strict diet to maintain their health and well-being and require being worked in harness for at least an hour every day to maintain their training.

It’s difficult for me to pinpoint exactly how much of a difference having Jazzy has made to my life, because there isn’t really much of a comparison. Before I became a GDO I was capable enough of getting around independently with my white cane, but lacked the confidence to venture very far on my own. I struggled with socialising and found going out independently stressful. The main thing I’d say that having Jazzy along for the ride does is take away that stress. She’s with me 24/7; she comes to lectures, she comes with me shopping, she comes on every bus and every train with me and she sleeps at the end of my bed. She is the guide that I don’t have to feel guilty for relying on, she is the cane that corrects me if I get lost, and she’s the sight I don’t have. Mainly, the world doesn't seem such a scary place with my four-legged shadow alongside.

Guide Dogs UK receive no government funding and rely completely on fundraising and donations to keep doing what they do, which is giving people like me confidence, independence and freedom. A guide dog can cost up to £50,000 during its lifetime including all training, food and vet bills which Guide Dogs offer to fund for each owner in order to give everyone equal opportunity to be a GDO. On Thursday 14^th May Jazzy and I will be at the Chester Beer Festival representing Guide Dogs UK and hoping to raise some funds with a very exciting raffle! Please come along to be in with the chance of winning a prize and donating to this wonderful cause. It’s free entry for students on Thursday, so you really have no excuse! Hope to see you there!