So, I arrive home after a busy week working away, need a taxi to get home but as usual it’s not as simple as you may think when you have a guide dog… I order an Uber, then send them a message saying I have a guide dog, they then decide to cancel the fare...
Barking Mad Owning a guide dog can be an empowering, life-changing experience and one that brings many rewards. But it is not always about straight walking. It can, on occasions, be a tasty bone of contention. When you walk into a store, your faithful pooch trotting happily by your side, things can go surprisingly quiet....
Most people tend to think of assistance dogs as Labradors or Retrievers, trained to lead blind people or to help wheelchair-users. But with increasing knowledge about different breeds of dogs and their abilities, the range is expanding. And we do not want to be judged as barking mad. What are dogs at work? A working...
Daniel Williams of Visualise Training and Consultancy talks about guide dog refusal that he has experienced over the last week. Four weeks being a guide dog owner and I thought I would finally be independent and more confident. I am to a certain degree however, society is already putting barriers in my way to...
I am writing a blog to highlight the ‘highs’ and hopefully not too many ‘lows’ of my experience having a guide dog. My first 14 days How excited am I! I have never owned a pet dog, let alone a guide dog, and having been on the list waiting for a suitable guide dog for...
Many of you will probably wonder how on earth we get around and survive in big cities like London and Manchester. The short answer is – with great difficulty. This isn’t because Barney isn’t a good worker (he is brilliant), but people think they are somehow above the law. Going out to eat and travelling...