FORMER teacher Margaret Kenworthy is getting ready to say a fond farewell to her star pupil.
For the past 12 months Margaret has been inseparable from golden retriever Fonda.
She is one of the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association’s dedicated band of puppy walkers and has spent hours each day preparing her canine companion for a role as a guide dog.
Now Fonda has been assessed by the charity’s regional supervisor and has passed with flying colours. On Friday, April 20, Margaret, of Thongsbridge, will take her to the Guide Dogs centre in Atherton, Lancashire, where she will embark on the next stage of training.
She said: “Fonda really is a lovely dog and I will miss her.
“The hardest part is when they hand you the collar back. It is always a sad time, you just have to turn round and go, but the dogs love it at the training centre and they are very excited to go there.
“Fonda is very clever and sparky and brilliant with children. I have done what I can with her and now she is ready to move on to more advanced training.
“We have had a lively adolescence, which has included a phantom pregnancy, which was a nightmare, but she has since settled down beautifully.
“We’ve done a lot of talks locally to schools, Cubs, Scouts, Brownies and rotary clubs. She really rises to the occasion; she adores the attention.
Fonda is Margaret’s eighth guide dog puppy. All but one, Drury, have made it to the next stage of training. Drury was found to be suffering from hydrocephalus, but in the end, he has landed on his paws.
He has been adopted as a pet by one of the trainers at the Atherton centre and is able to take part in training exercises with the other dogs during the day. Margaret is looking forward to seeing Drury on the 20th.
Puppy walking is a labour intensive job and involves far more than just exercising a dog. It is the vital first stage of a training schedule which lasts almost two years and costs £45,000 per dog.
The puppy walker has to educate the dog, make sure that he or she is well socialised and confident with good manners and no bad habits.
Fonda has accompanied Margaret on daily outings on buses and trains, around villages, the town centre and markets, to the garden centre and church on a Sunday and recently on a noisy demonstration with loud whistles in Huddersfield town centre.
Margaret, who taught at several schools, including many years at the Mount in Edgerton, said: “Fonda has been brilliant. She learns quickly, is affectionate and loyal and will be good in a family situation.
“I think and hope that she will become a very good guide dog.”
Anyone who is interested, fairly fit and able to devote the time to puppy walking should contact the Guide Dogs’ National Volunteering Office in Atherton on 0845 372 7403.
Members of the public can also sponsor a guide dog.
