A MONMOUTH grandmother is celebrating 20 years of guide dog ownership this month (January).

Geraldine Newman, who has tunnel vision and severe hearing loss, leads a busy life with the help of three-year-old guide dog Kandy.

The German Shepherd retriever cross is one of just two dual-trained dogs in Wales, guiding her owner around obstacles and alerting her to sounds in the home.

"She trained as a guide dog first, then went to Hearing Dogs for the Deaf to learn extra skills," said Mrs Newman.

"If the doorbell goes or the phone rings, she nudges my thigh. If the smoke alarm goes off, she lies across my feet, and it's down to me to get us both outside."

Mrs Newman started to struggle with her hearing when she was just 29. "I was on the phone to a friend and couldn't hear," she said. "Tests revealed that I was practically deaf in the right ear and couldn't hear much with the left. I had to have hearing aids and I started lip reading.

"Then problems began with my eyes. I had tunnel vision and night blindness. The condition Retinitis Pigmentosa was diagnosed and I could no longer drive my company car. Overnight I lost my job as a sales representative. I couldn't even take my son to school."

Mrs Newman, a widow, enjoys her independence and travels regularly to Hereford, Chepstow and Abergavenny by bus.