Winnie, a beautiful Golden Retriever/Labrador cross, is the fourth guide dog that Pam Jones has shared her life with, arriving at her home in Okehampton in October last year. Soft and friendly, she loved watching reflections play across the walls of Pam’s living room as we chatted.
She’s only two year and a half years old, yet is already a very good guide dog according to Pam and her husband, Brian - although she does have the odd blip.
’We still have our moments,’ said Pam. ‘She gets me where I want to go but she is very curious - when I first had her I found myself in someone’s front garden because she’d gone to look at a cat! Luckily Brian was nearby and came to the rescue!’
Pam explained that guide dogs generally start working when they are between 19 months and two years old. They start their career with a puppy walker for the first year of life, an important stage during which they are socialised and get used to all the sorts of environments they will need to be comfortable in as a working dog. A period of basic training follows which lasts around three months, depending on the individual dog, followed by advanced training for another two months or so, before their prospective owner gets involved.
This often involves staying away from home, when the close bond between owner and their new dog is built.
Pam suffers from a genetic condition affecting her eyesight; she was only partially sighted by the age of around 14 but managed well until her late 30s when her vision deteriorated further. By the mid-1990s and living in busy Birmingham at the time, she had little useful sight left and her confidence at being out and about was at a low ebb. She applied to be considered for a guide dog and her first, Zelia, joined her and Brian when she was 51.
Pam explained that having a guide dog made a huge difference to her quality of life.
‘It meant I could get out of the house without having to rely on Brian all the time - it gave me independence again. Obviously confidence is something you have to build up, it is nerve-wracking when you go to a place for the first time, but once you’ve done it it’s fine. To have that self-reliance can be very liberating. I couldn’t do without a guide dog now.’
Pam describes how Winnie has had to learn the various routes that she regularly takes, to the supermarket, to the park, to the community centre - and once the harness and lead are on, and she’s told where they’re off to, she is in charge.
‘Sometimes I think they know far more than we realise, although having said that, they are creatures of habit. But basically trust is the key - otherwise I’d never step out of the front door.
‘When I first did my training it was a challenging for me as well - they took my white stick away from me and I had to trust these dogs. I’d been used to walking quite slowly and some of them really marched along, so you are having to build up the trust, the confidence and the speed - it was quite a steep learning curve!’
Pam and Brian came to live in Okehampton 13 years ago - it’s a move they’ve never regretted.
‘I feel very comfortable here, the people are very friendly. I joined several different organisations and within a very short space of time I felt I knew a lot of people, which is lovely,’ said Pam, who is a member at All Saints Church, Okehampton Probus and of a local walking group.
A sprightly 75-year-old, Pam is a keen cook, who had been busy making Christmas puddings on the day of our interview. She also loves knitting and crocheting and listening to audio books.
‘I like to keep busy - I’d get restless otherwise! Okehampton has a really good social network, there’s always lots going on - we are very happy here and everyone seems to recognise me and my dog!’ she smiled.
Jane Honey