The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association in Liverpool is looking for new volunteer fosterers for their trainee dogs.
If you’d love a dog in the house, but you don’t have the time for a permanent pet, this may be for you.
The association trains young dogs, from the time they are puppies, to become guide dogs for those who are visually impaired. The Liverpool branch is based in Knotty Ash, and they’re in need of some new volunteers.
A training dog fosterer has a trainee dog in the weekday evenings and on the weekends. On weekdays, the dogs are at school, learning all the skills they need. Fosterers can expect to have the dog from between 12 to 20 weeks, dependant on their progress.
The dogs will come from a puppy raiser – who has nurtured the dog’s basic skills in the first year of it’s life. It will come ready prepared to start it’s next phase of training, and you will support it along the way.
Hallie Marsden, a dog wellbeing technician at the Liverpool branch, said: “You get a dog without the financial commitments.
“You get to go out on the weekend to free-run them, socialise them like normal.”
The Hannon family, from Liverpool, are currently fostering their 12th training dog, Fletcher. Fletcher is a golden retriever who is in the early stages of his training.
Mother of the family Colette began fostering after balancing her work alongside three children meant they couldn’t commit to a full-time pet. Now, 12 years on, they are still an active part of the scheme and look forward to every new dog they welcome in.
On taking part, Colette said: “It’s absolutely brought our family together. Instead of them all separating going into their bedrooms on x-boxes or social media, we’ve had benefits like being able to go on walks as a family and sharing time in the house together.”
Eldest son Scott was 11 when his family began fostering. Now an adult, he reflected on the benefits it brought to them: “We always wanted a dog, always wanted a family dog, but due to work commitments and school it was unfair.
“When this came about we thought we’ll give it a try. We’ve absolutely loved it. As a family it’s brought us closer together.
“It brought this really nice family feel to the home.”
They say that Fletcher is a loving, energetic dog who has brought a new lease of life to the house. Now with four adults in the house, Fletcher is always a joy to come home to after a long day at work.
There is no costs for fosterers – the dogs food, vets bills, and all other needs are paid for by the association. The only commitment needed is time and effort. Before you take on your first dog, you’ll receive comprehensive training at a workshop, to ensure you know everything you need to.
Anyone who is interested in becoming a training dog fosterer can visit the guide dog website to find out more information.
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