This is always the question when people meet our Guide Dog Puppies. We say that like our children, one day they will grow up, leave us, go to work and live their own lives. It is not "Goodbye" but "Good luck - see you soon!"

Notice how he crosses his paws, just as his father did

Oliver's training is going well. Rachel, his trainer, "loves him to bits". He is learning quickly, however he is immature and he forgets himself and plays around "like a daft teenager". Rachel is recommending that his training is suspended for a while to let him develop and become more mature.

Many of you will know that Oliver had a problem with the end of his tail. This has not healed and so part of his tail will have to be amputated. Thankfully he had a very long tail, and hopefully he will still be left with enough for him to wag.

In May when Oliver was just over a year old he left home and went to Bolton for his training.

We met his supervisor in a park in Chester Le Street and then Oliver transferred to her car for the journey down to Bolton. It is about this moment that puppy walkers are asked the most. "Don't you miss them when you say goodbye?" "I could never let them go" being the most common expressions. Indeed there is always a touch of sadness when you say goodbye to one of your puppies, but at the same time there is a sense of pride in what they have already achieved and what with training from professional handlers they will achieve over the following 4 months. It is very much like the children leaving home to go to University. You have given taught them the basics and hope that they will cope with being away from you and all the new experiences.

The following day Kay from Bolton rang to say that Oliver had arrived safely and that he had quickly settled in. For the first week the new dogs just play and get to know each other and their new surroundings. Oliver was already getting himself known for it was remarked that he was into everything and enjoying himself. Unfortunately the play was not good for his poorly tail. He had hurt the end of it in January and whenever it looked as if it had healed he would wag his tail so hard that if he hit something then it would start to bleed again. It looked as if he would have to be kept in a kennel by himself to give it a chance to heal.

After a week Rachel rang to say that she was his trainer and that she really loved him. She liked big dogs that were full of character and was really looking forward to working with him.

Normally Rachel would not ring until the end of Oliver's training but at the end of July she rang to say that Oliver's tail and not healed and that he was continually leaving a trail of blood on the walls. The only remedy was for some of his tail to be removed. The vet would take of as little as possible but quite a bit would have to be removed.

Rachel also gave a progress report, which was a mixture of good and not so good. On the positive side Oliver was eager to learn and he learnt quickly, he also coped with anything new. However he was immature and sometimes he would forget that he had to behave and would be naughty. Rachel was going to recommend that after he had had his operation then he should be given a break for a month or more, which would hopefully give him a chance to grow up.

 

Update on the puppies that have been to services at St Mary's

Hobie Working in Whickham

Walker Re-homed because he chased cats. Living with a family in Sheffield.

Dion Became a Dog for the Disabled, and working in Plymouth.

Potter Working in Goole

Jerry Working in Lancaster

Fisher Re-homed because of an eye problem. Lives with family in Barnard Castle

Oliver In training

Their Earlier History

Over the past few weeks our latest guide dog puppy has started going to church. Some of you have met him and will know that Oliver is a big boy. Of the 5 Labrador puppies that we have trained he is by far the largest and is similar to or first puppy, Hobie, who was a cross between a Golden Retriever and a Labrador.

Getting Oliver ready for church has taken nearly 6 months. For before we take him we must be sure that he will lie quietly at our feet during the service. As one can imagine this does not come naturally and requires training. Firstly we encourage his natural instinct to lie at our feet. So while sitting at the computer, or sitting watching the TV, Oliver is quite happy to sleep on my feet for a while. The next stage is to get him used to lying at my feet when we are away from home. Puppy walkers have their own ways of doing this but I find that the Diamond is a suitable place for this training.

I first took Oliver into the Diamond when he was only a few months old. On his first visit I carried him in so that he would get used to it, and we just walked around and left. The next time he walked in on a lead. We walked around and then sat briefly before leaving without staying for a drink. By the next visit he was ready for sitting while I had a half. In fact he was so comfortable that he fell asleep and I had a pint. Gradually Oliver was used to being out in cafes or the local and just lying quietly at my feet.

His first service was at the Wednesday morning service. He sat quietly throughout most of the service, I cannot claim that he was perfect for at one point boredom set in and he let out a loud yawn. Then we progressed to the 10.00 a.m. Sunday service.

It was my turn to be on the door welcoming people and at first Oliver thought that this was great fun. He loves to meet people and I am trying to teach him that when someone comes towards us he must remain sitting. Most of the congregation know that they should not touch him when he has his blue coat on, but with Oliver just a look is enough for him to "know" that you want to play. However by the time that the last member of the congregation had entered he was fed up with people ignoring him and decided to just lie down.

 News of Fisher & Jerry.

Fisher left me last February, and as I expected he started sailing through his training. He was possibly the best puppy we have trained. Unfortunately after a few weeks his trainer contacted me to say that he had a problem with his eyesight. He had very poor peripheral vision and so he could no longer be considered as a guide dog.

I was asked if I wanted Fisher, but declined as I couldn't train a puppy and have my own. Fisher was found a super home with a family in Barnard Castle and they love him dearly. I hope to be able to visit him in the next month or so.

Jerry was our previous puppy. He is a black Labrador and is now working in Lancaster. He lives near the sea and when he isn't working his owner's husband and children take him for walks on the beach.

We take our puppies everywhere - to shops, restaurants, railway stations and the airport, to university lectures, to meetings, art galleries [Jerry liked the Baltic!] and of course to church. Thank you, all of you reading this, who have been kind enough to resist the impulse to pat them. It is hard on the puppies to deal with such distractions and at St Mary's people have been very good. We have had some funny moments - Hobie's tail flipped gently across a sandaled foot of a lady sitting behind us who, unaware that a dog was hidden beneath the pew, thought a mouse had scuttled across her toes! Baptisms fascinated Dion who would wriggle into the aisle to get a better view of the babies. Potter took ages to settle down, as whenever we stood up to sing he thought we were leaving. When he finally sank into sleep it was always as we were being invited to go up for communion! Jerry disliked cold floors and sermons. He would whine softly but with increasing frequency, so that on one occasion Roy Storer was convinced that the church sound system was faulty!

After 6 years involvement with Guide Dogs we are moved by the way a blind person's life can be transformed when they have a guide dog. Some are blind since birth but many lose their sight through illness or accident. In such cases people must suffer unimaginable mental anguish at the loss of their sight and with it their ability to go out and about in the world. At Christmas we were in Sunderland Minster for a GDBA service. The church was filled with guide dogs, puppies in training, ex-guide dogs and retired dogs. The congregation was delighted by a tinselled yellow labrador leading a pretty red- haired 19 year old to the front of the church where she played Christmas music on her harp. Having a dog had given her the chance to leave home, go to university and start an independent life. But the age range is wide; she had trained with her dog alongside an 80 year old who still very much valued the independence that having a dog could give him.

It's hard work training puppies but we have such fun with them. It is such a pleasurable task and we feel so proud of them as they enable blind people to live their lives with independence and dignity. We look forward to bringing our next puppy to St Mary's and thank you all for your help and understanding.

Clive and Alison Ringrose

Acknowledgements - Account and Photographs: Clive and Alison Ringrose