A SCHOOL community has pledged to come to the aid of a charity after hearing of the plight of blind people waiting for a guide dog.
Pupils at Barnard Castle Preparatory School were moved by the harrowing tale of Sue Harding who had a brain haemorrhage and stroke, aged just 32, while on holiday with her two-year-old daughter, which left her blind.
Staff and pupils heard as part of the school’s ‘Headspace’ programme of inspirational talks how life changed in an instant for the Darlington mother.
“One day I could see everything and the next I was blackout blind,” said Sue, who campaigns on guide dog issues. “I didn’t know how I would cope. I lost my job and my friends. No-one talked to me in the schoolyard and it was very lonely.”
She was reluctant to leave her home and when she did and used her white cane sometimes young people spat at her.
“Then I rang Guide Dogs for the Blind and my life changed again,” she said. “I was matched with a yellow Labrador called Toby. At first I couldn’t understand how I could put my life in his paws but he was great, super-clever. He could find me the right shops, or an empty seat on a bus, take me to the swimming pool or the cinema. He even saved my life three times when he over-rode my commands as it wasn’t safe to cross the road. He was absolutely amazing.”
Sadly, Toby was killed by a hit-and-run driver and her next dog, a black Labrador/retriever called Indy, had a brain haemorrhage and went blind like Sue. A third dog, Bobby, decided one day it didn’t want to be a guide dog anymore and sat in the middle of the road, so had to be retired.
Sue has now been waiting for two years for a new dog and she told the children she could have to wait up to four years.
“These dogs gave me my life back and I wouldn’t be here today without them,” she said. “But it costs £60,000 to train and have a dog, which the charity pays for and it relies on donations from the public to survive.”
Sue was accompanied by Guide Dogs for the Blind puppy trainers Marion Boyden and Lynn Cooke who brought with them Lloyd, a two-year-old labradoodle and Xena, a German shepherd puppy.
Headmistress Laura Turner said: “I don’t think any of us fully appreciated the cost and work that goes into training and operating a guide dog. We were all very moved by Sue’s story and will definitely be doing something in the future to help what is an amazing charity.”
