When you apply for a guide dog the Guide Dog rehabilitation staff spend a considerable amount of time telling you all about the various responsibilities you will be taking on for the care and welfare of a dog and of a working dog. They tell you about poo, vomit, common illnesses, flea treatments, worming, grooming, feeding, the house ‘rules’ for a working dog, how tiring most people find training, the fact that many members of the public can find an assistance dog a thing of wonder and something to distract to the nth degree. They warn you, warn you again and then warn you yet again throughout the application and matching processes that they reserve the right to withdraw the dog from your care at any time, if need be with no prior notice if they believe you are not adhering to the various rules and regulations and meeting the needs of the dog. They tell you of occasions when they have withdrawn dogs because of welfare issues and how they have done so for very small breaches of these. I don’t think I could have been the only applicant left wondering whether I could cope with all of this….did I have the where-with-all to take on this responsibility and to live up to the role of being a guide dog owner? 

Those of you who know me will know by now that I did have the where-with-all (well, I hope I do!) and was happily matched with my guide dog, Waffle, a little over a year ago.

But what I want to know is….why do Guide Dogs not warn you that this rather large bundle of fur will come into your life and knock you head over heels in love with it? No one tells you about the amazing partnership that will quickly develop and the trust both human and dog will develop in one another. Your big bundle of fur will bring such happiness into your life – countless smiles every single day both in what they do to keep you safe and at play time when they show you their own personality and demonstrate how much fun it is to have a dog in your life. The fact that you will be instantly awake when your precious dog comes to the side of your bed to be let out to spend, no matter what time of the day or night it is. That you will happily endure wind, rain, hail, snow, ice, gales and thunder to exercise your dog each day. You will find immense fun in drying off a soaking wet dog and a satisfaction in cleaning your floor and washing endless towels so they are ready for the next wet day. You will gladly have your heart in your mouth when you take them for a free run because you need to manage for a short time without them at your side but know they are having fun and having time just to be a dog and gallop around the park, sniff at everything they find interesting, chew lots of sticks, dip their paws in any available water and roll in some pretty smelly stuff. And that each and every day, sometimes more than once a day, you will send a silent prayer of thanks to the puppy walker who solely out of the goodness of their heart raised your dog to be the amazing guide they become and endlessly feel indebted to knowing you can never hope to repay their kindness.

I guess one reason Guide Dogs focus on the responsibilities is so that you take applying for a dog, being matched with one, going through your training and taking over responsibility for the dog seriously and don’t underestimate the number of things you will need to learn, and quickly too.  And no one should underestimate any of this. Guide Dogs are there to help you learn and steer you through the many processes required in applying for and being matched with a guide dog – but at the end of the day, when the trainer goes home, you are the person responsible for the dog….and you will be held to account for how you are caring for the dog and working as a guide dog owner….and rightly so. 

That said, I’m still left reeling from the immense love I have for my dog, which continues to grow every day. Perhaps I was unprepared for this as I’ve not really had pets (a couple of hamsters and guinea pig aside) with which I could build such a bond. My love for Waffle is such that I am, oddly enough even to myself, grateful that I have an eye condition so I can experience all these things with her. 

Undoubtedly I wouldn’t have taken on the responsibility of a dog without knowing my sister was at my back should there be a crisis and I couldn’t care for Waffle – Waffle’s welfare and needs will always come before my own so I needed to be prepared in case the unthinkable and/or unexpected should happen. I’m very lucky that through the processes of becoming a guide dog owner my support system has grown and I now have others in my life who I know I could call upon to care for Waffle, with one friend in particular being a great support to both Waffle and me.

Perhaps it is a good thing nobody told me about the love that I would have for my guide dog as I might have worried endlessly that my heart wasn’t big enough to contain that love…happily, it turns out that it is!

[Picture description: the photograph shows Waffle lying on her left side with her head on her toy, Edward.]