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GUIDE DOG PUPPY


Guide Dog Puppy Walker


ABBIe HuNKIN AND HeR HusBAND TOOK ON THe ResPONsIBILITY OF HeLPING A PuPPY ON ITs FIRsT sTePs TO BeCOMING A GuIDe DOG LAsT YeAR – We see WHAT IT TOOK AND HOW THeY ARe DOING.


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bbie and her husband John Hunnibell returned from a two-year exchange with the Australian navy in Sydney in 2012 and thought about having a dog. However, John’s role in the Navy – he’s currently staff at the Britannia Royal Naval College - necessitates a move every two years, making this a commitment that was at best challenging.


But there was another option, which fitted their


personal situation and also allowed them to help a charity close to their hearts


“My husband and I applied to be


‘puppy walkers’ for the Guide Dog Association shortly after we returned to the UK from living in Sydney in Feb 2012,” Abbie said. “I have very poor eyesight myself and my grandmother was blind so we had some understanding of the difficulties faced by blind people and were keen to contribute to the charity in a meaningful way. We were also keen to have our own dog, but with moving every two years with the future is quite unpredictable, these were not ideal circumstances for getting a dog. Instead, having a puppy for a year seemed like a good solution for us.” But how do you actually go about becoming a puppy walker? “We applied to be puppy


walkers on the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association website. We were then interviewed and our house inspected by a puppy walker supervisor,” Abbie told me. “Once they were happy that the puppy would be well looked after and trained we


Abbie Hunkin out on the river with Indy.


went on the waiting list for a puppy. The whole process took about two months.” And then a young dog called Indy


arrived. Abbie’s husband John with Indy.


For many people having a puppy is a difficult and challenging time as they try to train them and help them become well behaved dogs – how different is it for a guide dog puppy? Abbie said: “He is quite a commitment; he needs to be trained to ‘work’ in cities and on public transport. Living in Dartmouth this means heading to Plymouth or Exeter at least once a week, and less frequent trips to Totnes so that he gets used to the train. The Guide Dog Association prefers that puppy walkers don’t work so that the dogs receive comprehensive training and care. In other ways, however, he’s less of a burden than a non working dog as he can go into shops and restaurants and the Guide Dog Association have a network of ‘puppy sitters’ if we need to go away for a short time without him.


Guide dog in training, Indy.


“Aside from town and city training, which we do at least


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