LOOKING after a puppy can be an exhausting experience – so try taking on 24 just out of the goodness of your heart.

That’s exactly what volunteer puppy walker Pauline Fretter did and after little over a quarter of a century she has decided to call it day.

Mrs Fretter, 65, of Home Farm Close, East Hendred, fostered her first puppy in 1984 and since then has spent day and night helping to train them for Guide Dogs for the Blind.

She has taken on golden retriever and Labrador pups from eight weeks to 14 months old, helping them become familiar with busy shopping centres, public transport and family life before they move on to more intensive training.

Last night, the charity praised her “fantastic work” and said she had helped many blind people around the country.

Mrs Fretter says farewell to her final dog, 14-month-old Ella, today.

She said: “You do feel sad when it comes to giving it up.

“It is hard work but the dogs are fun and you get a lot of pleasure from it.

“Every dog is different – they all have different personalities, so it’s never boring.

“But there comes a time when you know you’re ready to have a bit more time to yourself.”

The former home economics teacher at Faringdon Grammar School got her first puppy, Maud, 26 years ago after replying to an advert in a Post Office window.

She had read an article about volunteer puppy walking in a magazine and decided she could make a difference.

Mrs Fretter said despite the hard work, it had all been worthwhile.

She said: “If they qualify to become guide dogs it makes a difference to someone’s life.

“It’s about giving people their independence, the mobility to go out and do things.”

Volunteering has brought her many friends and she is still in contact with the person her first puppy went to.

She has also adopted Yazz, a two-year-old dog who suffers from a skin condition that meant she was not able to become a guide dog.

Michelle Thurston, regional volunteer coordinator at Guide Dogs for the Blind, said: “It’s so important to get the foundations right before the puppies go to training.

“Mrs Fretter has done some fantastic work and she is a lovely lady as well.”

Mrs Fretter said the charity was now looking for more volunteer walkers.

She said: “You have to have time and you have to have patience, but you get a lot of help from supervisors.”