Every time I see a guide dog with his/ her owner it makes me smile and reminds me of what it really means to be a true friend. What an amazing relationship.

If you've ever owned a dog you'll know what I'm talking about...

I grew up with a beautiful, and rather fat and lazy, black labrador, Shelley. She was everyone's best friend - even the butchers! When Shelley died I 'borrowed' our neighbour's boisterous boxer dog, Clyde, to take on a Guide Dogs for the Blind sponsored walk. He was mad, bad and looked dangerous - but I loved him. A real softie at heart. We later found out that his owners couldn't cope with him anymore so we adopted him into our family. Clyde died in 2004.

This year I wanted to set myself a real physical challenge: I decided to run The BUPA Great North Run (a half marathon - no mean feat for me!) with my husband, Rob, and that Guide Dogs for the Blind would be great charity for us to raise funds for along the way!

Guide Dogs charity's mission is to provide guide dogs and other mobility services that increase the independence and dignity of blind and partially-sighted people. Your generous donation will help Guide Dogs keep its lifetime promise to provide every guide dog owner with a guide dog for as long as they need one.

Here are some of the ways your donation could help:

£13 could buy a harness handle. One of the most important bits of kit - it’s the medium through which the guide dog owner feels where their dog is heading. £15 could buy a 'puppy in training' jacket to show that he's training for an important job. £20 could buy a grooming kit for the trainers to use on the puppies in training. £90 could buy ten traffic cones. An obstacle course at Guide Dogs Training School that will prepare trainee guide dogs and their future owners for the real world challenges. £109 could buy a guide dog owner starter pack with essential items to ensure the partnership has the best start. £137 could buy a puppy starter pack to give the puppy a good start on its way to becoming a fully trained guide dog.

Thank you so much for your support - it's greatly appreciated and will encourage us to find the 'puppy power' to finish the race!

Woof!

Lynda and Rob