Carol
Life-changing role: Puppy, future life-changer
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
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
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
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.
