Jon Nixey - Guide DogsOn this section of the website, I would like to introduce you to the three guide dogs I have had the greatest of pleasure working with, Troy, Isaac, and Eddy. To read about them and see a photograph of them, please select their name from the links on the right. I first applied for a guide dog and was assessed in 1985, when the South Wales area was under the care of the Guide Dogs training centre at Exeter. By the time I had been invited to go on class in 1986, I felt that the house my wife and I had bought would not be suitable for a guide dog as there was no garden, and so I withdrew my application. Over the years though, I have met and heard of a number of people who have successfully coped with having a guide dog while living in a house with little or no garden. After a mishap in 1988, when my face met the wing mirror of a lorry, my wife decided that was a good time to re-apply! by this time, we had moved home, and we both felt that this house had an ideal sized garden. We contacted the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association again, and I was asked to attend another assessment to determine if I was suited to work with a guide dog. During that assessment, I was able to have a trial walk with a dog in training, and what an experience that was! His name was Herby, and he was nearing the end of his advanced training. The trainer decided that I was a suitable candidate, and, me being me, I began to convince myself that they wouldn't let me walk with a dog that wasn't suited to me, so, Herby must be the one they are thinking of giving me, right?? Wrong!! in June 1989, I spent three weeks training with my first guide dog, Troy, at Trevillian House in Cathedral Road, Cardiff, the training centre of Guide Dogs for the Blind for South and Mid Wales at that time. From that moment on, my mobility was to change for the better, and not just a little, but dramatically. Related Links |