Radio Features

Three men have been meeting the newly trained guide dogs who are to become their eyes. They are spending two weeks at the Wroxeter Hotel near Shrewsbury to build up a strong partnership with their animals before going home to carry on with their lives.

She said although the dogs are highly trained, they still need to know who is boss: "Our dogs have to use their initiative and problem solve for the guide dogs owners. The guide dog owners still have to be in general control of the dog."

Sandy is 52-year-old Peter Townsend's fourth guide dog. He admitted to being slightly nervous about their first meeting: "There's always the slight apprehension, I think, from my own point of view definitely. It's not knowing exactly how the dog will react to you."

The owners and their new dogs

Phil Roberts started losing his sight 17 years ago when he was just 19. His previous guide dog died just before Christmas 2008. He had been with her for eight years: "She had a tumour. She had an operation, but did not make it." He's looking forward to the independence having his third guide dog will give him.

One of the things David Smith will not miss is bumping into lampposts while using a stick to navigate: "With a guide dog it gives you that freedom. I like to walk at a brisk pace and I've got the confidence to do that now with a guide dog."

All three dogs are bonding well with their new masters but David said they were a little tentative at first: "Every time he heard Denise's voice he did a little whimper 'cos obviously, you know, he's got the bond with Denise and that bond's now got to change over to me and that's going to take time."

Voluntary Donations

Guide Dogs has been providing blind and partially sighted people with dogs for more than 70 years. The first training scheme was established in 1940 and the first puppy walkers started their volunteer work in 1956, introducing young dogs to the sights and sounds of the world.

It was difficult to find the right kind of dogs, so in the 1960s Guide Dogs started breeding their own. They use mainly labrador retriever crosses and some german shepherds. More than 1,000 prospective guide dog puppies are born each year.

It costs £35,000 for each working dog that is handed over to its new owner, all paid for by voluntary donations.

Since Guide Dogs was founded, 21,000 blind and partially sighted people have experienced the independence offered by a guide dog.