BEAUTIFUL, blond Labrador/retriever cross Ufton is the fourth Guide Dog to ‘work’ for Lyn Oliver – guiding her around the shops of her home town of Faringdon, across the county where she gives talks on visual impairment, and onto buses, trains, and even planes.

“I am a complete person with my dog,” said 67-year-old Mrs Oliver.

“I am an active member of my church, I travel by public transport, and people know me. And that is because Ufton and the other dogs I have had allowed me to get out.

“Without them I would be struggling with a cane, relying on others, and most of the time I would be alone.”

Mrs Oliver realised she was losing her sight in her 20s.

She inherited the degenerative eye disease retinitis pigmentosa from her mother’s family and now has only a thin strip of blurred, middle vision.

She fought having a Guide Dog for a while, hoping her sight would return.

But when it didn’t, Hazel, her first Guide Dog, arrived instead – and changed her life forever.

“Once, while we were on holiday, Hazel kept stopping on a cliff path for no apparent reason. The sighted leader of the walk told me there was nothing there, but it turned out there was a gate leading down to the beach which I was told was ‘much too steep’ for me.

“The next morning Hazel woke me up and took me to the beach.

“We met the others in the group on our way back in – they were just coming down to breakfast and they couldn’t believe it.”

She continues: “When my Guide Dog Merlin died, I had a two-month break before my new dog came and it was terrible.

“I started using my cane again, but negotiating the streets was very stressful; cars parked on pavements, scooters and bikes lying around.

“With a cane I have to rely on noise and smells, and the world can seem scary. But with my dog, whom I trust completely, I feel I can do anything and go anywhere.”

Guide Dogs usually have a working life of between seven and 10 years, and are then rehomed and replaced.

“I help my dogs choose a new owner and we keep in touch,” said Mrs Oliver.

“Of course I miss them, but I know they have a great life and I am then busy working with my new dog.”

Ufton is her constant companion. “I may not be able to see him properly, but sometimes I feel I get a brief glimpse of dark eyes, and if he is running free he has a collar with bells on it, so I can find him,” she says.

PUPPIES LEARN AS PART OF THE FAMILY Guide Dogs for the Blind has about 1,200 would-be guide dogs born to its brood bitches each year.

Each litter is named by a letter in the alphabet – An ‘a’ litter could be named Adam, Anna, Algie, Amy and Albert.

The puppies meet their puppy walkers at six to eight weeks old and begin a year’s training as part of the family.

The Saunders family, from Cowley, are currently training their eighth puppy – Zimba, Gail Saunders, 41, said: “We get the puppies used to everyday life – from climbing stairs and travelling on trains, to going on holiday and even overcoming things that scare them.

“My children have had Guide Dog puppies in the house since they were small and they love them.

“When we had a break between pups this year, we all felt like our right arms had been cut off!”

'HE GETS ME HOME SAFELY AT NIGHT'

Joel Young, 26, was born three and half months prematurely and suffered Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), which detached his retinas and has left him blind in his left eye and with only tunnel vision in his right eye.

The charity worker from Marston, Oxford, got his first Guide Dog, Atkins, in November 2007. He said: “Before Atkins I relied on a cane, but there would be little to stop me bumping into anyone or anything.

“At night when I lose my bearings, he will take over and before I know it I am reaching out and touching my porch because he has got me home safely – he is amazing.”

For more about Guide Dogs for the Blind go to guidedogs.org.uk