ISAAC

Born: 30th May 1993

Breed: Yellow Labrador

Sire and Dam: Lewis and Polly

Littermates: Inca, Inga, Innis, Ivan, Ivor, Ivy

Puppy Walkers: Pete and Ade Spindler, Somerset

Trainer for advanced stage: Philippa Lodge

Qualified: 23rd January 1995

As Troy needed to be semi-retired immediately, Guide Dogs began looking for his successor. As each dog needs to be matched to you individually, we had no idea of how long it would be until a suitable dog was found. As it was, it was only a couple of months before Philippa Lodge brought Isaac out to meet us. This was totally different to Troy, who I hadn’t met until the second day of being on class!

There was one thing Isaac had been trained to do that Troy hadn’t. Isaac would sit at a kerb ready to cross the road just the same, and at the top of a flight of steps as well. But at the bottom of a flight of steps, Isaac had been taught to put his front paws up onto the first step to indicate we were going up a flight of steps, or even only one or two steps. I found this particularly helpful, because if he sat, I knew we were going to go down, and if he put his paws up, we were going to go up. So, for me, his body language gave me a very clear distinction between the two.

While I was on class with Isaac at the Guide Dogs training centre on Cathedral Road in Cardiff, the team told us that BBC Radio Wales had been in touch because they wanted to include a slot in a programme about the work of Guide Dogs in South and Mid Wales. There were two others training at the same time as me, David from Newport with Rula, and Dorothy from Dinas Powys with Harley. Two of us were going to be interviewed, and we had to decide between us who it was going to be. In the end, David and I drew the short straws!

A few days later, Vincent Cain arrived with his sound engineer to make the recording. It was a pleasure meeting him, as he was one of the presenters my mum had listened to for many years, so his voice was one I’d grown up with. We were introduced to him by the centre manager, Chris Floyd, and were given the opportunity to tell the listeners what a tremendous difference having a guide dog had made to our lives.

When the programme was broadcast several weeks later, Sue Baker from Somerset was in her hotel room in Devon, flicking through the radio stations to find out what was on. When she came across BBC Radio Wales, she heard the presenter say that they were going to be visiting the Guide Dogs training centre in Cardiff, and she decided it would be worth a listen. She nearly fell off her chair when she heard my name mentioned, because her maiden name was Nixey! She wrote a letter to the team at Cardiff and asked if they would kindly send the enclosed letter on to me, which they duly did. After researching a little on our family tree, we discovered we shared the same great great grandparents, Joseph and Martha Nixey. Needless to say, we’ve kept in touch ever since!

Towards the end of our training, Chris Floyd told me he was amazed how quickly and strongly Isaac and I had bonded during the first two weeks. I must say I think that training away from home has a huge advantage of not having the daily distractions of training at home. It’s just you and your dog, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, well almost, and it really pays off!

I noticed that sometimes when Isaac and I were heading out of the top end of our street, he would stop just where we needed to carry on around to the right, but would be looking intently over to his left. After that had happened a handful of times, I asked Su what was over there. She told me there’s just a field, but then remembered that sometimes there’s a horse there. It didn’t take long to realise that when the horse was in the field, that’s when Isaac would stop to have a look. I mentioned it to his puppy walkers, Pete and Ade, when I next spoke to them, and they weren’t at all surprised. When Isaac was a puppy, they often took him down the stables, and he absolutely loved meeting the horses! So, from then on, whenever he stopped to have a look at the horse, I’d just stand there patiently waiting for him, until he was happy and ready to carry on. He never took advantage. He would just stand and have a look for a moment or two and then get on with his work.

On a visit to Su’s family in Gosport when we still had Troy in retirement, Su’s mum looked out of the kitchen window and saw a dog tucking in to some apparently delicious fox poo. Isaac was new, young, and a bit of a wicked skins, while Troy was her baby. She told Su that Isaac was being disgusting and that Troy would never do such a thing! Su, looking out of the window, was able to tell her that the dog who was enjoying that treat was, you’ve guessed it, Troy!

Troy and Isaac loved visiting Gosport because it meant they were able to go to Privett Park, which was located a short walk from the family home. On one visit to the park, Isaac spotted a German Shepherd and ran over to play with it. Even though Troy was still scared by pet German Shepherds, he ran over and got in between the two of them, evidently protecting his little brother!

Probably one of the funniest stories to relate with regards Isaac happened when Su’s family came up for their summer visit. We’d been out and about in the car and had decided to call into The Tredegar Arms pub in Newport for a meal on the way home. By the time we left, it had got very dark. Usually, when we put Troy and Isaac in the car, Troy would get in first and then Isaac. For some reason, on this occasion it was the other way around. As Troy jumped in, Isaac decided he was going to jump out and went running off into what he probably thought was a park. It was actually a cemetery! Su headed off after him while I made sure Troy stayed safely in the car. You can imagine how she felt, moving through the total darkness, in and out of gravestones, calling “Isaac...” She thought if anyone could hear her they’d have thought she’d completely lost the plot – so to speak! Su nearly died herself when a hand suddenly touched her on the shoulder! It was her uncle Harry, who next said the unforgettable line: “What are you going to do if he comes back with a bone?”

While on holiday at the Cliffden Hotel of Guide Dogs at Teignmouth in Devon, we took Isaac around Mules Park, an area which was accessible from the hotel grounds. Many guide dog owners took their dogs for a free run there. Well, he managed to find a very thick black muddy pond to splosh through. He came out absolutely filthy stinking and very much in need of a bath. At that time, Guide Dogs had 24 hour kennel staff working at the hotel, so we headed back and Sharon took him off into the special dog’s shower room. She decided to put him in the dog bath, then raise it up so that he would be less likely to try jumping out while she was washing him. to be fair, he didn’t try to get out, well not until she lowered the bath back to floor level. It was then he dived out and managed to escape into the hotel grounds. He ran around in all directions so that we had no chance of catching him, and rolled over and over in the grass, no doubt trying to get rid of the horrible smell of dog shampoo!

While Su’s family were visiting us one summer, we decided to go to the St. Fagans National Museum of History in Cardiff. While we were there, we came across Gremlyn, a caricaturist, and Su’s mum and uncle Harry asked him if he would create one of each of them. For some reason, I had this silly idea of asking him would he create one of my guide dog Isaac. I fully expected him to say no, and that he only did people, not animals. Instead, he seemed more than happy to give it a shot. All the family loved what he turned out, especially the title he gave it: “Isaac the Blind Dog.” Little did I know at the time that I would decide to utilise that title about eighteen years later.

When it comes to driving, it’s very well known by family and friends that Su isn’t at all good with directions. In the early years of visiting Pete and Ade near Bridgwater, we often took the wrong turning off a roundabout not far from their home. Every time it happened, we would hear a long loud sigh from the back of the car. It was Isaac showing his disgust at mum taking the wrong turning yet again!

During our visits, Pete and Ade told us of many of Isaac’s antics when he was a puppy, such as the time when he tore up the Puppy Walker’s Handbook that Guide Dogs for the Blind had given them. Evidently, Isaac wanted to do things his own way! When you consider that Isaac was the first puppy they had ever walked, they really could have done with that book! Then there was the time he stole a loaf of bread and a pat of butter from the kitchen, and ran off into the garden to eat them! On another occasion when he ate some Christmas tinsel, they told us it was much easier to find his poo in the dark because it had a distinctive sparkle! There’s no doubt about it, during the time we had Isaac, we heard of and saw much proof that his name really does mean “laughter”!

On Saturday 13th July 2002, Pete and Ade organised a garden party in aid of Guide Dogs for the Blind which was held at their home. You couldn’t have missed it if you tried! There was bunting all along the front of their property, and literally dozens of cars parked in what is usually a quiet neighbourhood. An entrance fee of £1.00 included a cup of tea and a freshly made scone with jam and cream. With over 100 attending, that got the cash flowing in nicely!

People were strolling around admiring Pete and Ade’s beautiful garden, happily chatting away, and having cuddles with guide dogs. Meanwhile, my keyboard and I were positioned under a gazebo, right alongside a vine, where I was constantly visited by little insects who seemed keen on jumping on my head and neck, and tickling me behind my ears! If you’ve ever tried playing a keyboard with annoying little creatures putting you off, and I’m not referring to children, you’ll know it’s not much fun! So, I struggled on as there wasn’t much else I could do.

I played a selection of my own compositions, one of which was entitled “Times to Remember.” That particular title had been given me by Pete and Ade so that I could compose a piece of music especially for the occasion. So, of course, that track was played numerous times.

There was a bring-and-buy stall, stalls selling books and cakes, a couple of raffles, one of which included an autographed book by the gardening TV presenter Alan Titchmarsh, and the sale of some of my home-produced “Times to Remember” CDs, the afternoon raised a total of £360 for Guide Dogs.

Listen to a recording of the track “Times to Remember”

During a visit to our friends Jeanie and Liz in Coventry, Jeanie was determined to get a photo of all our dogs together. There was Isaac, Jeanie’s Collie cross Golden Retriever guide dog Trisha and her pet German Shepherd Rose, and Liz’s Jack Russell Terrier Smudge. It’s tough enough getting two dogs sitting nicely together for a photo let alone four! In the end, she did a really good job, especially when you consider she had very limited sight.

Isaac had gone into Jeanie’s kitchen and was eyeing up Trisha’s food bowl. Liz noticed, pointed at it, and in a very firm voice said: “No! Leave it, that’s Trisha’s!” To be fair, he did, he kept well away from it, but he didn’t seem at all happy. After a while, Su realised that Isaac hadn’t had a drink of water, so she tried encouraging him to have a drink, but he seemed very reluctant! Then the penny dropped! Isaac had taken Liz’s command a bit too literally, and wouldn’t even go near the water bowl!

In early 2003, an after-care visit was arranged by Katie Roberts to observe Isaac working, to make sure he was still keeping me safe. He had been working with me for around eight years at the time, so it was inevitable that he would soon be reaching his retirement. During our walk, Katie noticed that although Isaac was still happy to be out and about with me, and that he was keeping me safe, he was sending certain signals to her which indicated that he was getting to the point of wanting to take things easy, and not have the responsibility of guiding me. You could say he wanted to hang up his harness, and settle down in front of the fire with a pipe and his slippers on. That’s more or less the wording Katie used. So, there I was, facing the prospect of applying for another guide dog, going through the assessment process, and then training with guide dog number three.

Listen to a recording of Isaac shaking and barking