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http://www.k9magazine.com/viewarticle.php?sid=15&aid=1170&vid=0&npage=
Crufts, the world’s biggest dog show, is always a special time of the year for Guide Dogs, as the canine world gathers to celebrate man’s best friend. 2006 was an extra special year for the charity as it celebrated the 75th anniversary of the first guide dogs in the UK.
The charity’s impressive celebrations were commemorating a journey of faith which began in Wallasey, Cheshire, in 1931. It began with four blind pioneers Allen Caldwell, G W Lamb, Musgrave Frankland and Thomas Ap Rhys who took the first tentative steps into a new world of independence with four very special German Shepherd dogs; Flash, Meta, Judy and Folly – the first guide dogs to walk the streets of the UK.
The year of 75th anniversary celebrations centres around the many thousands of extraordinary partnerships that have been formed between guide dogs and their owners over the past 75 years. To their visually-impaired owners, guide dogs are more than best friends. The life-changing relationship between a visually- impaired person and a guide dog has a deeper bond sealed with trust – putting your complete faith, possibly even your life, in the ‘paws’ of your special canine partner.
To mark the important milestone in UK history, Guide Dogs performed two memorable displays in a packed-out Special Events Ring, as hundreds of visitors to the show gathered to join in the 75th anniversary celebrations.
Using an imaginative street scene course, actors and costume, the charity captured the imagination of the audience by recreating the day that the first four guide dogs qualified in Wallasey in October 1931 – a time when there were few cars or pavement obstacles.
Guide dog trainers and their dogs in training then continued on a journey around the course reaching the present day, where the street scene was transformed into a typical 2006 high street. Trainers and dogs encountered a dramatic difference in their working environment as they navigated around a street of clutter with dangerous obstacles lurking around every corner.
This is the environment many guide dogs and their owners face in 2006, with cars parked on pavements, horrendously busy roads, wheelie bins left out, pavement works, A-boards and chairs positioned on the pavement outside cafes and restaurants. Guide Dogs’ Safer Streets campaign seeks to highlight these dangers and encourage councils, businesses and members of the public to ensure that the streets of the UK are safe for guide dogs and their owners.
TV celebrity vet Trude Mostue took part in a blind fold walk around the 1930s and 2006 street scene, which delighted the audience.
The displays ended with a parade of guide dog owners, puppy walkers and other volunteers around the ring in recognition of all the extraordinary partnerships that come together to enable Guide Dogs to continue its life-transforming work for visually-impaired people.
While commemorating the past, the charity also celebrated the future by bringing together for the first time the UK’s only dual-purpose guide and hearing dogs. The dual-purpose dogs, Roddy, Erica and Drew have been jointly trained by Guide Dogs and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People to become the eyes and ears of their deaf-blind owners Angela Hassall, Molly Dyson and Emma Hancock. The project is part of Guide Dogs’ vision to continue meeting the needs of visually-impaired people, including those with additional disabilities such as hearing loss.
Angela Hassall, from Crewe in Cheshire, has been deaf since she was eight years old and more recently began to lose her sight. She is the very proud owner of the first-ever dual purpose guide and hearing dog, Roddy.
Angela says: “Roddy has given me a new lease of life. My future is much brighter than it was, and I am so much happier because of him. He means so much to me – he is my ears and eyes. He is a very special dog.”
The charity also held a special 75th birthday reception, which attracted guide dog owners and over 100 guests from the canine world, including representatives from the Kennel Club and other Assistance Dogs UK charities such as Dogs for the Disabled and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.
Guide Dogs’ chief executive, Bridget Warr, delivered an exciting speech which reflected on the past 75 years and focussed on the future of guide dog training in the UK – highlighting plans for two new guide dog Training Centres and a Puppy Breeding Centre to enable the charity to produce the best possible guide dogs for many years to come.
Says Bridget Warr: “We thoroughly enjoyed bringing our 75th anniversary celebrations to Crufts, and dog-lovers from all over the world, to mark this milestone in UK history.”
Olga Bibikoff, the grand-daughter Nikolai Liakhoff – of one of the founding members of guide dog training in the UK – gave a moving speech about the life of her grandfather who brought guide dog training in the UK to an impressive level of development in those early years.
Says Olga: “It’s been a wonderful experience to delve so deeply into the history of my family’s involvement with guide dog training. I am extremely proud of my grandfather’s work. His ambition was to help blind and partially-sighted people and he left a priceless legacy of transforming thousands of lives.”
Guide dog owner Bob Matthews MBE, inspired his audience with a speech in which he referred to his guide dog as his ‘elite mobility aid’. Bob described how his guide dogs had given him the confidence to pursue his sporting career which has seen him win 29 Paralympic and world championship gold medals.
Seventy-five years on from those pioneering days in the lock-up garages in Wallasey, The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association is the world's largest breeder and trainer of assistance dogs.
There are currently around 4,700 working guide dog partnerships in the UK. Around 1,000 guide dog pups are born in the homes of the charity’s 210 volunteer brood bitch holders every year.
There are many extraordinary partnerships within Guide Dogs that work together to enable lives to be transformed. From volunteer brood bitch holders, puppy walkers and boarders to trainers and mobility instructors; from local community fundraisers and branch members to corporate sponsors.
Every partnership helps Guide Dogs to give visually impaired people back a life-transforming degree of independence, confidence and freedom of mobility they may have not thought possible.
Guide Dogs receives no government funding and relies entirely upon donations. If you would like to become more involved in the 75th anniversary celebrations, please call 0870 600 23 23 or visit the website www.guidedogs.org.uk.
The Guide Dogs’ website www.guidedogs.org.uk provides a complete list of all 75th anniversary events taking place during 2006 – including Blue Peter Bark in the Park events on Sunday 28 May
Crufts, the world’s biggest dog show, is always a special time of the year for Guide Dogs, as the canine world gathers to celebrate man’s best friend. 2006 was an extra special year for the charity as it celebrated the 75th anniversary of the first guide dogs in the UK.
The charity’s impressive celebrations were commemorating a journey of faith which began in Wallasey, Cheshire, in 1931. It began with four blind pioneers Allen Caldwell, G W Lamb, Musgrave Frankland and Thomas Ap Rhys who took the first tentative steps into a new world of independence with four very special German Shepherd dogs; Flash, Meta, Judy and Folly – the first guide dogs to walk the streets of the UK.
The year of 75th anniversary celebrations centres around the many thousands of extraordinary partnerships that have been formed between guide dogs and their owners over the past 75 years. To their visually-impaired owners, guide dogs are more than best friends. The life-changing relationship between a visually- impaired person and a guide dog has a deeper bond sealed with trust – putting your complete faith, possibly even your life, in the ‘paws’ of your special canine partner.
To mark the important milestone in UK history, Guide Dogs performed two memorable displays in a packed-out Special Events Ring, as hundreds of visitors to the show gathered to join in the 75th anniversary celebrations.
Using an imaginative street scene course, actors and costume, the charity captured the imagination of the audience by recreating the day that the first four guide dogs qualified in Wallasey in October 1931 – a time when there were few cars or pavement obstacles.
Guide dog trainers and their dogs in training then continued on a journey around the course reaching the present day, where the street scene was transformed into a typical 2006 high street. Trainers and dogs encountered a dramatic difference in their working environment as they navigated around a street of clutter with dangerous obstacles lurking around every corner.
This is the environment many guide dogs and their owners face in 2006, with cars parked on pavements, horrendously busy roads, wheelie bins left out, pavement works, A-boards and chairs positioned on the pavement outside cafes and restaurants. Guide Dogs’ Safer Streets campaign seeks to highlight these dangers and encourage councils, businesses and members of the public to ensure that the streets of the UK are safe for guide dogs and their owners.
TV celebrity vet Trude Mostue took part in a blind fold walk around the 1930s and 2006 street scene, which delighted the audience.
The displays ended with a parade of guide dog owners, puppy walkers and other volunteers around the ring in recognition of all the extraordinary partnerships that come together to enable Guide Dogs to continue its life-transforming work for visually-impaired people.
While commemorating the past, the charity also celebrated the future by bringing together for the first time the UK’s only dual-purpose guide and hearing dogs. The dual-purpose dogs, Roddy, Erica and Drew have been jointly trained by Guide Dogs and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People to become the eyes and ears of their deaf-blind owners Angela Hassall, Molly Dyson and Emma Hancock. The project is part of Guide Dogs’ vision to continue meeting the needs of visually-impaired people, including those with additional disabilities such as hearing loss.
Angela Hassall, from Crewe in Cheshire, has been deaf since she was eight years old and more recently began to lose her sight. She is the very proud owner of the first-ever dual purpose guide and hearing dog, Roddy.
Angela says: “Roddy has given me a new lease of life. My future is much brighter than it was, and I am so much happier because of him. He means so much to me – he is my ears and eyes. He is a very special dog.”
The charity also held a special 75th birthday reception, which attracted guide dog owners and over 100 guests from the canine world, including representatives from the Kennel Club and other Assistance Dogs UK charities such as Dogs for the Disabled and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People.
Guide Dogs’ chief executive, Bridget Warr, delivered an exciting speech which reflected on the past 75 years and focussed on the future of guide dog training in the UK – highlighting plans for two new guide dog Training Centres and a Puppy Breeding Centre to enable the charity to produce the best possible guide dogs for many years to come.
Says Bridget Warr: “We thoroughly enjoyed bringing our 75th anniversary celebrations to Crufts, and dog-lovers from all over the world, to mark this milestone in UK history.”
Olga Bibikoff, the grand-daughter Nikolai Liakhoff – of one of the founding members of guide dog training in the UK – gave a moving speech about the life of her grandfather who brought guide dog training in the UK to an impressive level of development in those early years.
Says Olga: “It’s been a wonderful experience to delve so deeply into the history of my family’s involvement with guide dog training. I am extremely proud of my grandfather’s work. His ambition was to help blind and partially-sighted people and he left a priceless legacy of transforming thousands of lives.”
Guide dog owner Bob Matthews MBE, inspired his audience with a speech in which he referred to his guide dog as his ‘elite mobility aid’. Bob described how his guide dogs had given him the confidence to pursue his sporting career which has seen him win 29 Paralympic and world championship gold medals.
Seventy-five years on from those pioneering days in the lock-up garages in Wallasey, The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association is the world's largest breeder and trainer of assistance dogs.
There are currently around 4,700 working guide dog partnerships in the UK. Around 1,000 guide dog pups are born in the homes of the charity’s 210 volunteer brood bitch holders every year.
There are many extraordinary partnerships within Guide Dogs that work together to enable lives to be transformed. From volunteer brood bitch holders, puppy walkers and boarders to trainers and mobility instructors; from local community fundraisers and branch members to corporate sponsors.
Every partnership helps Guide Dogs to give visually impaired people back a life-transforming degree of independence, confidence and freedom of mobility they may have not thought possible.
Guide Dogs receives no government funding and relies entirely upon donations. If you would like to become more involved in the 75th anniversary celebrations, please call 0870 600 23 23 or visit the website www.guidedogs.org.uk.
The Guide Dogs’ website www.guidedogs.org.uk provides a complete list of all 75th anniversary events taking place during 2006 – including Blue Peter Bark in the Park events on Sunday 28 May