Watching this cute puppy video could change someone’s life

In a couple of weeks time I’ll be visiting Centre for Sight to have a consultation about my eyesight. If all goes well I’ll be having Lasik to improve my vision and I’ll stop wearing contact lenses. Yep I’m excited at the thought of being able to wake up in the morning and see across the room, but I must admit the thought of having a laser reshape my eye makes me a little queasy and I’m trying not to think about all the things that could go wrong *gulp*. It’s really made me appreciate my eyesight actually.

It’s hard to imagine that every hour in the UK someone loses their sight.

Just stop for a second and think what that would be like.

Not being able to see the sun rise.

Your husband’s face.

Your child’s smile.

So when Guide Dogs contacted me and asked me if I’d write about their new Sponsor A Puppy adverts I jumped at the chance. Not just because I love puppies – who doesn’t! – but because I know that thanks to Guide Dogs thousands of families have been able to have a new lease of life.

People like Emma, who was effectively housebound with her two sons, unable to take them to the playground or the shops while her husband was at work until she was partnered with Jazz, her guide dog.

“Jazz hasn’t just changed my life, she’s given me a whole new lease of life.” 
Emma, guide dog owner.

Jazz stars in the new advert alongside Emma and her sons. One of her sons, Owen, did the voice-over. Emma can’t watch the advert but she can hear her son’s voice. You can see an exclusive interview with Emma about her experience of filming the advert below:

The Guide Dogs story started in 1931 with two amazing British pioneers, Muriel Crooke and Rosamund Bond, who organised the training of the first four British guide dogs from a humble lock up garage in Merseyside. Today Guide Dogs is the world’s largest breeder and trainer of working dogs and they’ve helped over 29,000 people to achieve life-changing independence.

Unbelievably, the Guide Dog service receives no government funding and depends entirely on public support. That’s people like you and me.

Training a guide dog is expensive. And it doesn’t happen overnight. In fact every guide dog costs around £50,000 in their lifetime.

(Want to know more? Read about the training journey of a guide dog in this PDF.)

What can you do to help?

It’s simple. Sponsor a guide dog for £1 a day.
That’s less than the cost of a cup of coffee to help change someone’s life.

So please, watch this video, coo at the cute puppies and then, if you can, visit .