"Almost two million people in the UK are living with sight loss that has a significant impact on their daily lives. Of those, around 180,000 rarely leave their homes alone and lead lonely, isolated lives. Guide Dogs works for a world where people with sight loss are never left out of life, for a world where being blind or partially sighted is not what defines you. A world with enough support to make the challenges of sight loss no barrier to fulfilling hopes and dreams." Guide Dogs

My personal journey with Guide Dogs started whilst attending a rehabilitation centre for blind people in Devon and that was 30 years ago. Guide Dogs gave a presentation about how a Guide Dog could assist me and help me gain back my independence, whilst developing my life skills.

After training and qualifying with my first guide dog Dale, I was ready to start my next chapter in life and our first adventure together began with a train journey from Torquay in Devon to the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford. There I learned more life skills and gained qualifications. This both boosted my confidence and eventually lead to full time employment.

It's been almost 30 years since my first Guide Dog Dale, who was followed by Roza, Taggart, Nessie and Tilly. I've had 5 amazing working partnerships, achieving so much more than I ever thought possible. Guide Dogs have truly changed my life.

Over the years sadly three of my dogs were diagnosed with cancer. A difficult time for a pet owner, but more difficult when it’s your own Assistance dog and friend. The bills can soon mount up, thankfully Guide Dogs paid for all vets’ bills. Tilly my current dog was diagnosed just before Christmas 2024. Guide Dogs continue to pay all the bills even when a dog is retired.

Each time I have needed help; the charity has been wonderful and supportive through the difficult times. Always there for Roza and Nessie and ongoing for Tilly. Taggart also needed extra support. After qualifying as a Guide Dog training is ongoing at home for the next 6 – 12 months. During this time, I discovered Taggart was known by staff at the charity as a “Pipe and Slippers dog” I soon found out why!

I want to show my gratitude and raise awareness by raising funds to say “thank you” to this wonderful organisation that helped me when my confidence was at its lowest. One very important statistic that is worth mentioning is it costs approximately £50,000 per dog for its working life and currently there are about 5,000 dogs working to enhance the lives of blind people. With that figure in mind, the amount I would love to achieve is £6,000 because that was the amount of Tilly's vet bills for December of last year.

As a Volunteer speaker with Guide Dogs, I am happy to give talks on “My Journey through sight loss and Guide Dogs” and raise funds from various events throughout the year. Guide Dogs rely on the help of the public for donations, gifts and legacies, they receive no National funding. That is why this page is so important to me. Giving something back is special, the charity and dogs give so much to people like me, allowing us to fulfil our hopes and dreams.