SOPHIE

Born: 28th March 2017

Breed: Golden Retriever x Black Labrador

Sire and Dam: Pascale and Hetty

Littermates: Beth (B), Brodie (Y), Mollie (B), Radar (Y), Ringo (Y), Sarah (y), Scrumble (B), Wendy (Y)

Puppy Walkers: Karon and Eirian Thomas, Torfaen

Trainer for advanced stage: Keita Sigston

Qualified: 21st March 2019

On the afternoon of Thursday 30th August 2018, we very suddenly and unexpectedly found ourselves needing to ease Max to sleep because of an inoperable tumour. It’s virtually impossible to even begin describing how his loss so deeply affected us. While still reeling from this tragic loss, I also had to try and get my head around the idea of reverting to using a long cane to get about on my own. Obviously, this was something that was going to take time, it wasn’t going to happen overnight. It’s strange how I used to get around so confidently back in the mid 1980’s, but having had those four trusty guide dogs at my side had totally improved the quality of my mobility. I found using a long cane again after nearly 30 years very nerve-racking to say the least! Thankfully, Guide Dogs Cymru came to the rescue, and Ann Mudd gave me a refresher course. Although she helped me build up some confidence, it still didn’t feel up to the level it had been many moons ago. I must say that they were several months that I’d rather not have to go through again!

After having completed the paperwork and assessment, I was once again on the waiting list for a guide dog. So many things go through your mind while you’re waiting. Boy? Girl? Name? Colour? Breed? Size? Well with regards size, all my four boys had been fair sized, ranging from 38 to 42 kilos, so it seemed likely that number 5 would also be around that size.

One afternoon in early February 2019, I had a phone call from Keita Sigston at the Guide Dogs training centre in Bristol. They had some dogs on their system that they couldn’t match with anyone in their area. So, they’d been in touch with Guide Dogs Cymru to find out if they had any clients who might match up with their dogs. Details on the computers at Cardiff indicated that one of the dogs would be a suitable match for me! Keita asked if she could bring the dog over to see if things worked as well in real life. Of course she could! She even answered some of the questions that had been niggling at me. Girl. Sophie. Yellow. Retriever Labrador cross . . . it was all sounding fabulous! Possibly my first girl!

The day we met Sophie, or “Missie” as Keita often called her, was exciting on one hand, but rather anxious on the other. I don’t remember why, but when they arrived, I was laid on the floor, half on half off Max’s fleece which was patterned all over with wolves. Possibly I felt some sort of comfort lying on his fleece, or maybe I thought being down at Sophie’s level would encourage her to come directly to me. Whatever the case, she headed way over to my left to the sofa that Su was sat on. Well, that was a great start I must say! I’m not being sarcastic, all four of our boys absolutely totally and utterly adored Su. In my mind, this was a massive plus! Everything seemed to be falling into place, but we soon discovered it was everything except one.

I stood up, and that was when one thing that matched on the system suddenly didn’t! Keita took one look at me and asked: “Jon, how tall are you?” “About 5 foot 10 I think” I replied. Problem? It appeared that the info sent from Cardiff to Bristol included my height, which gave them the impression I was several inches shorter than I was. Sophie was a small dog weighing in at around 28 kilos. It seemed that a shorter Jon would work great, but a 5 foot 10 inch Jon may not work so well.

Over the past several months, Su and I had met up with some visually impaired friends in Cardiff, and Sharon’s petite Labrador Annie had taken a shine to me, and I must say the feeling was mutual. It was almost as if she was trying to tell me she knew what was going to happen, that I was going to meet a sweet little girl just like her who would become my next guide dog. Of course, she wasn’t doing that at all, but I didn’t think for a moment that my next dog could possibly be so much smaller than my four boys had been. Remembering the somewhat unsuccessful walk I’d had with petite Quella in 2011 made me think that this was most likely not going to work out for Sophie and me.

Keita said that as she’d brought Sophie from Bristol to meet us, we may as well give things a try and see how it goes, a walk or two with Sophie in harness being the primary thing. All was going OK, generally. I tended to walk facing slightly in towards Sophie which was having a negative effect on her. She didn’t feel at all happy with me facing in and towering over her like that. Our boys were fine with it, they were taller, stockier, and could manage my positioning without any issues. Keita went through some re-positioning with me, and things began improving. We stopped off at the Deja Brew café in town for a chat, where Keita said she knew that the quality of Sophie’s work had definitely not been up to her usual standard. I thought Sophie had done remarkably well considering this was the first walk she’d ever had with me. Keita decided to do another harness walk back home because she felt certain that things would be noticeably better this time. She was absolutely right!

So, with my height problem having been eliminated – without the need of amputation, my positioning having been corrected, and this totally adorable little girl already having made massive in-roads into our hearts in such a short space of time, Keita said she’d like us to do some more harness walks the next day. Wonderful! I really couldn’t wait! Things just got better and better! Sophie was allowed to stay with us overnight in readiness for those extra harness walks! Wow, we weren’t expecting that!

Those walks proved to be up to the level that Keita had anticipated. She had to run things past the senior members of the team at Bristol, and thankfully, all were in agreement. It was only a few days later that we heard that Keita had arranged for us to go to Bristol on an upcoming class together, which was to begin on Monday 18th February. There was something else we weren’t expecting though. There was a little bit of a problem back in Bristol. Nigel and Jannette, who had been boarding Sophie during the latter part of her advanced training, were about to go away. So, Keita asked us if there was any chance at all that we might be able to board Sophie ourselves! Was there really any need to ask such a question? We were absolutely delighted to be able to board her until it was time for us to begin our training! Although there were some restrictions on what we could do with Sophie while she was with us, none of them affected us to any degree. So, of course, we agreed, and we thoroughly enjoyed the additional time Sophie was able to spend with us. It gave her the chance to familiarise herself with more of our town and home area, she enjoyed a few lead walks around Cwmtillery Lakes, and she began getting to know our neighbour’s cat, Sooty, and our other neighbour’s two dogs, Bean and Lol. The time just seemed to fly by, and before we knew it, the day had arrived for Su to take Sophie and I to the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel in the Bradley Stoke area of north Bristol.

Our training took us to places including Broadmead, Clifton, Cribbs Causeway, Redlands, and Westbury-upon-Trym. I was really looking forward to training around Bristol, because I knew some of my ancestors had come from that area. My great great grandfather, George Cooksey, had been born at Frampton Cotterell, about 3 miles from the hotel, while another great great grandfather, William Tiley, had been born at Almondsbury, only about 2 miles away. Some of my other ancestors had come from areas south of Bristol where none of our training was done, such as Nailsea, almost 15 miles away, where my Godwin, Gray, and Vawr families had lived.

We were there with two other trainees, Ben from Frome with Radar, and Lisa from Pontypool with Henry. I found it fascinating that our last guide dogs had all been German Shepherds. Ben’s was named Jack, Lisa’s was Ava, and of course I’d had Max. They were 10 fabulous days, the three of us getting on like a house on fire – as did our dogs. In fact, it wasn’t at all unusual to find Sophie and Henry canoodling under the table at mealtimes – and at any other time they thought they could get away with it! They’d known each other for quite some time, both of them having done their early training together with Kirsty Baylis at Leamington, before Keita took both of them through their advanced training at Bristol. On the second day of our training, we had a visit from Glenda Webb from the Guide Dogs Welfare Team. During her visit, she told me quite a bit about Sophie, such as any health issues she’d had, the names of her mum, dad, and eight littermates. I also found out that our darling little Sophie was the last to be born in that litter. Well, you know what they say: “Leave the best to last!”

I decided to write up a Sophie’s Daily Diary of our time on class together, right up to our qualification walk some 30 days later. It was similar to the diary I’d written while training with Max, except this time it was done from Sophie’s perspective rather than mine, or at least, how I imagined she’d have seen things through her eyes. You can download a PDF version of Sophie’s Daily Diary here. (The file size is 1.76 MB.)

Our qualification walk took place in Abertillery on Thursday 21st March, just a week before Sophie turned 2 years-old. The route we chose was from our home down to the Deja Brew café in town, Keita being joined for the walk by Marcus Roberts of Guide Dogs Cymru. Thursday was bin day in our area, so heading up out of the top end of our street meant we came across bins and a car completely blocking the pavement. There was also a dog on the opposite side of the road barking furiously at Sophie, but she was excellent and just carried on with what she needed to do. After we’d crossed over at the crossroads behind our house, there was a council truck parked entirely on the pavement. It made me wonder whether Keita and Marcus had purposely arranged for it to be there! Keita had a polite word with the driver, and he kindly moved his truck out of our way. Keita had told me that airbrakes startle Sophie, but I hadn’t experienced that with her before. As he moved his truck off the pavement, it gave a blast of air from its brakes, which made Sophie jump just as Keita had expected.

Things went well from there, until we got into the top end of town and came face to face with Alison and her guide dog Inez, which got Sophie overly excited. She got herself up on her hind legs with her front paws way up in the air! Thankfully, she fell short of doing kangaroo bounces like Eddy had done! Then there was the person who came rushing out of a shop doorway on our left, causing Sophie to come to a very sudden stop. Just a few doors further on was the Coffee Bean that had just taken a delivery, but most of the boxes were still on the pavement. In addition to the table they had outside, there was also a mobility scooter parked very close by. Sophie managed it ever so well, moving us slowly through, inch by inch, getting us safely past without nudging me into any of it! We made our way on to our destination, where Keita and Marcus told me they were very happy with how things had gone. After signing my name on the contract and handing over my 50 pence, Sophie and I became a fully qualified partnership. I jokingly asked Marcus where my change was because Sophie was so much smaller than my four boys had been!

There are two things about Sophie that I particularly like when we’re out together. The first is her speed. My boys had all been quite fast paced, especially Max. As Sophie is around 10 kilos or more smaller than the boys were, her walking pace suited me far better. I suppose as I get older, things will slow down a bit, that’s to be expected. She occasionally increases her speed if she’s excited about where she’s going, but I still find it manageable. The second thing is how cautious she is. A classic example of this was the chaos outside the Coffee Bean on our qualification walk. She’ll slow down nicely, even stopping if she feels it’s necessary. I’ll give her a moment or two to suss out the best way to handle the situation, and she’ll cautiously deal with whatever it is. Max, on the other hand, could sometimes be a little too confident. He’d take a look, and think: ‘Oh yeah yeah we can do this no problem . . .’ Which would then be followed by: ‘Oops sorry dad I thought we could!’ Not my little Sophie! She simply will not go rushing into anything, she takes her time and makes sure she gets it right.

There’s something else that Sophie does that none of my previous dogs had ever done, and that’s barking at motorbikes travelling directly behind our car. The first time she did it I nearly had a heart attack! If they keep their distance, she’s happy enough, but when they come too close for her liking, she really gives them what for! She’s only a little girl, but she has one massive bark when she feels the need to use it! We hoped that over time, with some gentle reassurance, this would gradually stop, but that hasn’t been the case in the slightest. To save me from having any heart failure in the future, Su very kindly warns me if there’s a motorbike behind us so I can prepare myself for the inevitable!

Sophie was the second out of my five guide dogs to let out a blood curdling growl, the first being Troy almost thirty years earlier. At the time, our son and daughter-in-law, Paul and Kate, were living in our basement flat. One day, we’d let them know we had a package for them, and that we’d leave it on our kitchen worktop so they could fetch it when it suited them. Su and I were quietly watching the TV, when all of a sudden Sophie went tearing off into the kitchen while barking and letting out the most horrific growl! We wondered what on earth was going on, it sounded like she was ready and raring to rip someone’s throat out! It was only Paul fetching their package. As soon as Sophie saw who it was, she went totally nuts, jumping about and frantically wagging her tail because it was her Paul! We couldn’t help but wonder what she might have done if it was someone she didn’t like coming uninvited into our kitchen!

As June 2019 marked my 30th anniversary as a client of Guide Dogs for the Blind, the idea crossed my mind of what a wonderful opportunity it would be to celebrate the occasion by arranging some events that would highlight the incredible and varied aspects of the charity’s work, and to bring in some much needed funds. Su told me she also wanted to show her own appreciation for how our four boys had not only improved my mobility and the quality of my life, but how they’d all brightened up her life as well. The goal was to raise enough to name a Guide Dog puppy. We decided to combine the events under the title “TIMES to Remember,” TIMES being a sort of anagram of the five initials of my guide dogs, Troy, Isaac, Max, Eddy, and Sophie. On two occasions, I dressed up in a dog costume supplied by Guide Dogs Cymru, and wore an oversized white t-shirt with the words “Isaac the Blind Dog” printed on the front. Under the very careful supervision of our son Paul, I did a solo walk wearing the dog costume from our home to the Iceland store in town, where a very successful bucket collection was also being held. I used no mobility aids at all, just feeling my way along through my enormous furry feet! This was a particularly hot day, and I felt as though I was cooking inside the costume! I was joined at the top end of Church Street by Councillor Gill Clark who agreed to take on the challenge of doing a blindfold walk through town using a long white cane. My son Paul also kept a careful eye on her to make sure she was safe. As we turned left into High Street and headed towards the Iceland store, Gill and I completed our walks together arm in arm!

Over the next few months, amazing support also came from the staff of the Deja Brew café who hosted a Guide Dogs Tea Party; the Abertillery Ladies Orpheus Choir who made a very generous donation, and put on a thoroughly enjoyable concert at The Met, with special guests Molly Bradley and Paige Coles; adverts sponsored by local businesses that financed the concert programmes which were produced by Old Bakehouse Publications; the Abertillery and Llanhilleth Community Council who hosted a Guide Dogs Meet and Greet event, where once again I wore the dog costume; many local guide dog owners and puppy walkers with all of their beautiful pooches; and the incredible generosity of the residents of Abertillery and surrounding areas. Su arranged to take part in a Guide Dogs “Swim 100” challenge. It took her 75 minutes to swim 100 widths, that’s a total of 1000 metres, which raised the fabulous total of £560 towards our overall target! Well done Su, what an awesome achievement! The combined total raised was an incredible £2,812. Of course, as this was my 30th anniversary, the name we chose was Pearl. It wasn’t very long at all before we heard the news that our chosen name had been given to the most beautiful German Shepherd puppy.

Just like my previous guide dogs, Sophie had been enjoying her free runs at the Tredegar Park in Newport. My previous dogs had all been puppy walked in various parts of England, but Sophie had been puppy walked far more locally. Having been in contact with her puppy walker Karon who lived near Pontypool, we discovered that Sophie had a particular fondness for Pontypool Park. Even though this park was only around 10 miles from our home by car, we’d never taken any of my other dogs there for a free run. Max had been there for a fundraising event, but that was about it. Sophie soon let us know just how well she knew Pontypool Park! She knew every little nook and cranny, every single gap in the hedges which gave her access into the paddocks, and she had great fun in the children’s maze – always finding her way out with no problem at all! The two ponds are also a favourite of hers. She always visits the ducks on their pond, most likely to see if anyone has left them some bread, and then runs off to the other pond to have a nice splash about and sometimes even a little swim. The picnic tables are also of great interest to her, not that we’ve worked out why exactly, and she loves going over to visit the rabbits and occasionally chasing a squirrel or two. We really enjoy taking Sophie to Pontypool Park because we know just how much she loves it there. Well, to be honest, we love it there too! Sophie has made some special dog friends, including Dexter the Dalmatian, a Black Poodle named Eve, and Tilley who is a Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross Border Collie. Of course, Su and I have got to know quite a few of the dog owners as well. It’s a lovely place, everyone’s so nice and friendly, and, if you time it right, there is even an excellent café in the Leisure Centre.

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic and its resulting lockdowns caused severe disruption for Guide Dogs for the Blind in the UK. It halted the charity’s breeding and training programmes which led to a backlog on the waiting list. Volunteer fundraisers and puppy raisers were also negatively impacted, there were dangerous distractions for working dogs in public places, and serious mental health problems were experienced by many guide dog handlers with regards their independence. Because of the travel restrictions that had also been put in place, we were no longer able to take Sophie to Pontypool Park for her free runs, and so we had to try to find some suitable local areas within Abertillery.

On March 27th 2021 the Welsh Government officially lifted the “stay local” travel restrictions, meaning that we could once again take Sophie to her favourite park. Just a couple of months later, Su and I also had the opportunity of spending a week with Sophie in a static Caravan at the dog-friendly Whitehouse Leisure Park located at Towyn on the north coast of Wales. We had a thoroughly enjoyable time there, which included meeting up with Jean and her guide dog Wendy, Sophie’s sister, who was number 8 in their litter. The girls really enjoyed each other’s company, which was only slightly marred by Sophie’s poorly paw. We’d taken her to what appeared to be a gorgeous beach, but she managed to cut one of her hind paws on broken glass. This meant our holiday also included some trips to the vet, as well as to our own vet once we were back home. Of course, her paw needed to be bandaged, but the vet also recommended that she wore a boot to protect both the bandage and her paw. We honestly didn’t think that she’d put up with the boot, but to be fair to her, after a couple of days, she was exceptionally good about it. Unfortunately, her paw began showing signs of an infection while we were still on holiday, which meant she was also put on a course of antibiotics. All in all, it took a few weeks for her paw to fully heal.

Su and I have been amazed at the number of people who have come up to us since we’ve had Sophie, and have told us that they would never come over to speak to us while we had “that Alsatian” with us! That Alsatian, as they put it, was the most gentle, biggest, soppiest bundle of cuddles and love you could ever wish to meet! Some people have asked me what the main difference is between Sophie and Max. One thing I always tell them, especially if they were afraid of Max, is that he was very predictable, you always knew what you were getting with him. To use a computer term, he was very much WYSIWYG, or “what you see is what you get.”

On the other hand, our darling little Sophie is a totally different kettle of fish. Yes, it’s true that wherever she goes, those magnetic chocolate brown eyes melt hearts left right and centre, and her beautifully photogenic expressions draw people in with very little effort. Unlike Max though, she can at times be somewhat stubborn and a little on the unpredictable side. I don’t mean that in a negative or critical way, it’s who she is, and we still absolutely love her! Just like Max, she also has an endless supply of love and affection that she is always ready and willing to share, and thankfully in her case, she has more than ample opportunities to show it with the almost constant stream of people who come her way. I’ve found it fascinating how Su has described Sophie as almost being like a combination of my previous four guide dogs. She has the shape of Troy, the cheekiness of Isaac, the stubbornness of Eddy, and the intelligence of Max. Could I have asked for anything more? Sophie certainly seems to be holding on to her liveliness and puppy looks. Most people who see her bounding around in the park honestly can’t believe she’s 9 years-old! They all think she’s about 2 or 3 years-old!

Something that Sophie definitely does not have in common with any of the boys is her love of getting filthy stinking dirty while having a free run! The dirtier the better! Eddy loved rolling just like Sophie does, but he would run at great speed before throwing himself into a roll, and not once did he get himself even slightly dirty. Maybe he had a built-in radar? Sophie, on the other hand, goes into one of her “mucky-moo” modes as Su calls it, specifically searching out something ronk to roll in, and often grinds it deep into her neck. How grateful we were when Su discovered the Mud Daddy, a portable, easy-to-use pet washing system, which we have to say has definitely been worth more than its weight in gold! Su also found out about their power brush attachment which makes cleaning Sophie even easier than it had been before. Needless to say, whenever we’re visiting a park with Sophie, you can bet your bottom dollar that the Mud Daddy is in our car ready to be used, just waiting for Sophie’s return!

Watch a brief video of Sophie swimming in the pond at Coventry’s War Memorial Park on a rather blustery day. (The file size is 9.03 MB).