The importance of having a guide dog was highlighted at The Abbey on Tuesday 22nd June when some special visitors took part in morning assembly. Visually-impaired Tim Guttridge, a former member of the British Blind cricket team, visited the Junior School with his five year old Guide Dog, Chloe and puppy-walker, Mrs Carole Arrowsmith, with Lorna - a 15 week old guide dog puppy.
Tim talked about issues facing blind and partially-sighted people focussing on how a guide dog can give freedom and independence back. The girls learned that it costs £50,000 to fund a guide dog and that the organisation is funded entirely by voluntary contributions from the public. Guide Dogs for The Blind makes a lifetime commitment to provide owners with a guide dog for as long as they need one; Chloe is Mr Guttridge’s third guide dog. Year 4 pupils happily gave Tim a cheque for £155 which they had raised through sales to friends and parents of a cookery book they had created in ICT lessons. Mr Guttridge thanked the girls saying “It sounds easy to say this but having a guide dog really does change your life. They become so much more than just your eyes.”