"You put a lot into the match and making sure that the dog is being matched to the right person. The dog will have a profile. The human has a profile. We've just got to find the ones that match."
"Guide Dog Mobility Specialists (GDMSs) like Ellie need to think about everything from the traffic near the owner's home to whether there could be squirrels in a nearby park."
"For a potential guide dog, the path towards finding their owner begins at just eight weeks old. At this age, the dogs will be sent to 'puppy raisers' who look after them throughout their training."
Ellie Brown, a 30-year-old Guide Dog Mobility Specialist, serves as a dog matchmaker who pairs trained guide dogs with their new owners. She spends up to five months training dogs, understanding their individual needs and personalities to determine which owner will bring out their best qualities. The matching process considers numerous factors including the owner's home environment, nearby traffic, and potential distractions like parks. Dogs begin their journey at eight weeks old with puppy raisers, then enter formal training at 13 months at Guide Dogs' training centres. The GDSM teaches dogs essential skills and creates detailed profiles for both canines and humans to find compatible matches that significantly impact both lives.
Read at Mail Online
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]