Member Article

Guide Dogs brush off muddy paws at mobility shop

Yorkshire Care Equipment hosted some brand-new training for guide dogs this month at their Harrogate showroom. This new concept saw these amazing pups learn more about how to help their humans who may have physical disabilities.

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association brought along some of their newest recruits to get to grips with the environments they will be working in alongside their owners. The dogs were walked around various products and obstacles in the showroom to get them used to different smells and sounds.

The training was arranged in conjunction with Henshaws, a charity supporting people with sight loss and other disabilities. Yorkshire Care regularly work with Henshaws and were delighted to host the training.

Yorkshire Care Equipment’s Retail Advisor, Gary Hornsby-Shawe, said:

“We’ve been working with Henshaws for about 10 years now, so when they told us about the guide dog training we jumped at the chance.

“It was a great experience to have them training in the showroom, and it was quite spectacular to see how quickly they can overcome new challenges and distractions like mobility equipment. We’ll make sure to get some dog treats in next time they’re training here!”

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association ended up buying a wheelchair, an electric wheelchair, and an electrical wheelchair add-on from Yorkshire Care that will be used to train the dogs in future. The charity is hoping that using the equipment regularly around the dogs will help them get used to how the equipment works and moves.

Lee Stanway, Head of Specialist Services for the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, said:

“The number of applications for a guide dog from people in wheelchairs is increasing and our service is adapting to meet this demand.

“The staff at Yorkshire Care are friendly and knowledgeable and Guide Dogs staff who attended the training workshop felt they learned a lot and benefited from their time there. We hope that more of our staff can attend the Henshaw’s course in the future and that we can continue to work with Yorkshire Care as part of our training programme.”

The company will now be an official supplier to the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and will continue to provide mobility equipment and the use of their extensive showroom facilities and staff knowledge to help new puppies in training.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Lucie Hudson .