National Puppy Day - where are they now?

Date:
Author: Guide Dogs' Communications Team
    Topics:
  • Dogs
Black labrador puppy turns his head to the left to look at the camera

Carol

Life-changing role: Puppy, future life-changer

Carol, a yellow Labrador, lays on the floor with a giant soft toy duck in her mouth.

Do you remember puppy Carol? Named after BBC weather presenter Carol Kirkwood, puppy Carol is a future life-changer whose mum, Flash, made a name for herself at the Chelsea flower show when she pulled the presenter to the ground on live TV. There are no hard feelings though, and human Carol recently paid a visit to the Guide Dogs National Centre to reunite with Flash and meet her first litter, including little Carol.

Puppy Carol has grown a lot since she was a tiny bundle of fluff! She currently lives with Chris, her puppy raiser. She is progressing really well and has recently been getting used to public transport - getting on the train, walking through, and getting back off. She loves to run in the woods though she would like a word with her namesake about the weather - she is not keen on the rain!

Gershwin

Life-changing role: Guide dog dad

Gershwin, a black poodle, sits in front of a blue door with his mouth open so he appears to be smiling. Beside him is Bella, a black Labrador who is smaller than Gershwin, who looks calmly at the camera.

Did you see our Valentine's Day coverage of Gershwin, our “unlucky in love” poodle? Most of our guide dog dads father three litters per year, but Gershwin has only managed three successful dates in his four-year career, making him our most 'unstudly' stud dog.

Despite this, Gershwin's breeding dog holder Lucy says: "“Gershwin is very good looking, but I know I’m biased. I’ve never met another dog like him. He won’t have a lot of mating opportunities as only so many labradoodles are produced each year. He’s very well looked after. Hopefully Gershwin will have a long and successful future providing puppies to help people with sight loss.”

We are very happy to share the news that Gershwin is not so unlucky in love anymore - his third litter of pups, with guide dog mum Bella, were born on the 13th of February. Gershwin and Bella are the proud parents of six boys and three girls, who will hopefully be go on to be life-changers themselves.

Hugo

Life-changing role: Working guide dog

Guide dog owner Ron sat on a bench looking towards the camera. Hugo is lying on the floor next to him, wearing his white harness.

Hugo hit the headlines from day one, as one of our record-breaking litter of 16 puppies. His mum, Unity, is a German shepherd and when Hugo was born, he already had 239 half-siblings thanks to dad Trigger, our most prolific stud dog.

After a lovely start in life with his breeding dog holders Lesley and Stephen, Hugo went to live with puppy raiser Yvonne who helped him through the puppy stage and gave him all the skills he'd need to be a life-changer. When he was ready for 'big school', his training fosterer Harriet took care of him in the evenings and weekends while he spent his days learning how to guide.

Now Hugo is all grown up, and we are delighted that he qualified as a guide dog and was matched to his new owner, Ron, a few months ago - the pair even reunited with Harriet and Yvonne on BBC Breakfast at Christmas.

Hugo has his own Facebook page, looked after by Yvonne, with regular updates.

Winter

Life-changing role: Guide dog in training

Winter, a yellow Labrador, lays in the grass with his tongue out. Behind him, the sky is bright blue and the trees are starting to grow leaves after winter.

Last year, former Love Island finalist and Guide Dogs Campaign Star, Faye Winter, had an emotional meeting with the guide dog puppy she’s donated money to name via our Name a Puppy Scheme.

When Faye met Winter, he was living with his puppy raiser Rob, but he has now moved on into training and is staying with his training fosterer.

Winter spends his days in training in Reading, and goes home in the evenings and on weekends to relax and practice some of the behaviour he has learned during the week. Winter has been in training for a few weeks now and is settling in nicely and enjoying all his new experiences.

Would you like to look after a guide dog mum or dad, become a puppy raiser or a training dog fosterer, or join our welcoming team of fundraisers to support future life-changers like Carol, Gershwin, Hugo and Winter? Behind all these wonderful dogs are a whole team of equally wonderful volunteers. Visit our website to find out more about the roles available in your area.

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Author: Guide Dogs' Communications Team

Guide Dogs’ Communications Team are available 24/7 to answer journalists' questions about the charity and its services, events and campaigns. We have key spokespeople across all areas of our work and many of the people we support are happy to share their inspirational stories.

Author: Guide Dogs' Communications Team

Guide Dogs’ Communications Team are available 24/7 to answer journalists' questions about the charity and its services, events and campaigns. We have key spokespeople across all areas of our work and many of the people we support are happy to share their inspirational stories.