President, Ellen Davis welcomed everyone to our first meeting of the New Year on 19th January.

We still need members for refreshments toward the end of the year, many thanks to the members who have already signed.

There would be the possibility of a trip to London with a tour of the Houses of Parliament also a Grand Day Out, possibly Worcester, further details will be sent to members as soon as possible.

Our speaker for the evening was Jonqui Dodd who informed us that it all began in 1916 when a German doctor, Dr.Stalling, opened his first school for training dogs to be the “eyes” for blind ex-soldiers returning from the first World War.

In Britain two British pioneers Muriel Crooke and Rosamund Bond organised the training of the first four British guide dogs in 1931.

The United States also pioneered this work using German Shepherd dogs which were used initially and you may think of a guide dog as a labrador, however, other breeds are used including cross breeds, Golden retriever cross with German Shepherds, Labrador cross with Golden Retriever and Poodle cross with Labrador retriever.

Guide dogs for the blind are the largest breeder and trainer of working dogs and currently have 3,197 working dogs’ partnership in the U.K.

Dogs are mostly born in the homes of volunteers and at 8 weeks are transferred to the National Centre for health checks then on to a volunteer puppy raiser. Training begins when they are 14 months old and are trained for 6 months. They either stay at Regional Centres or go to volunteer fosterers and finally are matched with their guide dog owner when about 2 years old.

When guide dogs are not working, they live as family dogs and need the same care and attention as any other dog. There is no set age at which they retire, however, on average guide dogs retire around 9/10 years of age.

When retired they enjoy their well-earned rest living as a family dog and many stay with their owners.

It costs £102.000 to raise, train and support a guide dog from birth to retirement. All expenses relating to the dogs, including food and vet bills are covered. The Guide Dog Association is supported entirely by charitable donations.

This was a fascinating and enjoyable insight into the lives of the guide dogs and their owners and the amount of work that goes in before they finally reach the person they will be supporting.

Jonqui had brought her laptop with lovely pictures of dogs working and playing and members enjoyed these whilst having refreshments.

Our next meeting is Monday 16th February when we will be hearing all about a Trip to India. Our meetings are held at The Priory, 7 pm.