Charity issues urgent appeal for Lanarkshire guide dog fosterers

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Charity Guide Dogs Scotland has issued an urgent appeal for fosterers in Lanarkshire who can ‘do the school run’ for dogs in training.The charity wants to hear from anyone who can care for a dog overnight and at weekends, and drop the animal off at Guide Dogs’ Hamilton office in the morning and collect them at the end of their day’s training.Catherine Irvine, of Motherwell, has fostered three dogs while they were learning how to help someone with sight loss to live an independent life.The Lanarkshire Live app is available to download now.

Get all the news from your area – as well as features, entertainment, sport and the latest on Lanarkshire’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic – straight to your fingertips, 24/7.The free download features the latest breaking news and exclusive stories, and allows you to customise your page to the sections that matter most to you.Head to the App Store and never miss a beat in Lanarkshire - iOS - Android For three months, she and husband John looked after adorable black Labradoodle Chester, who has since gone on to qualify as a guide dog and is now living and working with a person who has a visual impairment.

The couple also fostered, on a short-term basis, golden Labradors, Vera and Evie.Catherine and John, who are both retired, recently rehomed 23-month-old golden Lab, Suzie – a guide dog-in-training, whose anxiety around other dogs meant she wouldn’t make the grade.“My husband and I spoke about becoming fosterers a few years ago but, for one reason or another, we never pursued it,” explained Catherine, who volunteers a couple of mornings a week as one of the Hamilton centre’s ‘settlers’ – people who play with the dogs after they’re dropped off by fosterers, and keep them company