Member Article

Bristol business owner takes inspiration from Guide Dogs tale

Dave Manning of oven valeting service Ovenu Bristol East has received a valuable insight into the work carried out by the Guide Dogs charity as part of its Name a Puppy scheme.

George Upfield, who was left severely visually impaired after suffering a brain tumour aged nine, visited Ovenu’s annual conference along with his guide dog Yoko.

Dave, who previously worked as a garden centre manager before taking on the business in 2016, is one of more than 120 Ovenu franchisees across the UK who named puppy Selsey and are funding her training as she works towards becoming a fully qualified guide dog.

The black Labrador, now almost 12 months old, is described as “progressing well”.

George, who started volunteering with the Guide Dogs at the age of 16, later worked with the charity as an administrator, and was recently appointed an operations support coordinator.

He described the many aspects of the charity’s work and thanked everyone for their generous donations and puppy sponsorship.

Dave said: “George’s talk was inspirational and really brought home how important it is to sponsor the training of puppies like Selsey. Guide Dogs offer life-changing independence and freedom to people living with sight loss. However, it’s more than just mobility, because the companionship of a guide dog also brings positive psychological and social effects.”

The presentation was part of the Ovenu Conference, held in Northamptonshire.

Rik Hellewell, the founder and managing director of the Ovenu franchise, said: “George’s personal story was very moving, and he inspired us all to continue to support Guide Dogs’ valuable work.”

Jo Berry, the charity’s business development manager, said: “We would like to thank everyone at Ovenu for their continued support of Guide Dogs, without the help of companies like Ovenu we would not be able to provide our life changing services to people living with sight loss.”

Ovenu Bristol East covers East Bristol, including Hanham, Warmley, Oldland Common, Keynsham and surrounding areas.

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