Burnley Guide Dog pup helps to make history

A dog trained in Burnley has been paired with one of the youngest guide dog users in the country.
Darcy the guide dogDarcy the guide dog
Darcy the guide dog

Labrador Darcy was trained as a puppy by David Fishwick, who lives in Worsthorne and is a member of Guide Dogs for the Blind Burnley branch.

And now she has linked up with a 14-year-old visually impaired boy in the north.

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“I am a puppy walker and we walked Darcy from six weeks to 12 months as we do with all our guide dogs,” said David.

“We help the dogs socialise and get them used to people. We have had 10 prospective guide dogs now and it is rewarding.

“Darcy left us and went to Atherton and she has had to do a lot of training to deal with classroom situations. Once they leave us, we don’t have many dealings with them again but get to know when they have been paired up.

“The age for getting a guide dog used to be 18 but it was brought down a few years ago as long as the person is capable of looking after a dog. It’s nice to know Darcy is helping someone.”

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Darcy has already had her time in the spotlight with another David Fishwick, who owns the Bank of Dave.

He donated money to Guide Dogs for the Blind last year and met puppy Darcy outside his shop in Burnley.

David Fishwick, from the Guide Dogs, wrote to Bank of Dave and thanked them for their donation while giving an update on Darcy.

“David Fishwick had made a fuss of Darcy when she visited so I sent him a letter updating him on Darcy’s progress,” said David.

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Bank of Dave’s David Fishwick said: “I was proud to get the letter. We donate to a number of charities but this one touched me, especially when Darcy came to the shop as a puppy. It’s great that she is with one of the youngest people ever to have a guide dog.”

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