In Cheshire in 1931 four blind pioneers, Allen Caldwell, G W Lamb, Musgrave Frankland and Thomas Ap Rhys began the phenomenon of guide dogs when they used four German Shepherd Dogs called Flash, Meta, Judy and Folly. In 1934 The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association was founded. The charity is now celebrating 75 years of guide dogs training and working in the UK.

Flash, Meta, Judy and Folly with their owners

75 years later there are around 4,700 working guide dog partnerships in the UK and around 1,000 guide dog pups are born every year.

The Association has enriched the lives of many blind and partially-sighted people for 75 years by breeding, selecting, training and monitoring the dogs that will live and work along side the visually impaired. It’s difficult to put into words how much these dogs can transform the lives of their human companions. They give independence, confidence and freedom as well as love, loyalty and companionship.

There will be numerous events and celebrations during 2006. The Guide Dogs website provides a complete list of all 75th anniversary events taking place. www.gdba.org.uk

Interactive Exhibition
Part of the celebrations sees a Guide Dog interactive exhibition called ‘Moving Forward Together’ touring venues across the UK throughout this special anniversary year. The exhibition is of course touch and audio rich so that blind and partially-sighted people will be able to appreciate it too.

Crufts
Crufts this year helped with the anniversary celebrations during two packed-out displays in the Special Events Ring. The display consisted of an enactment of the guide dogs work from past to the present, clearly showing that the modern world is a much more hazardous than the one faced by the founding guide dogs and their handlers all those years ago.

Birthday Reception
The charity recently held a 75th birthday reception. Guide Dogs’ chief executive Bridget Warr reflected on the past 75 years and the future of guide dogs in the UK.

"We are looking forward to a very special year commemorating the Wallasey pioneers and celebrating the extraordinary partnerships between guide dogs and their owners over the past 75 years. We will continue to concentrate on the future needs of blind and partially-sighted people in order to provide the best possible Guide Dogs’ service for many years to come."

Bark in the Park

The 75 year celebrations continue with classic children’s TV show Blue Peter, which has a famous and long-standing relationship with the charity. It was back in 1964 when millions of viewers were introduced to the concept of training dogs to become ‘the eyes’ of their visually impaired owners. Aluminium foil was collected to fund the training of a guide dog called Honey and Blue Peter followed her progress through training. In the years to follow, pups born to Blue Peter dogs Goldie and Bonnie were also donated to Guide Dogs and the programme also followed their progress. It is safe to say that the exposure that Guide Dogs received through the Blue Peter show was key to the charity’s dramatic growth. Today it is one of the UK’s largest charities.

To celebrate the 75 year anniversary, Blue Peter is staging six nationwide fun-packed Bark in the Park events across the UK on Sunday 28 May 2006. Each Bark in the Park will make a fantastic day out for the whole family, with or without a dog in tow. There will be thrilling displays and fun entertainment for all ages. Each event will focus on a three-mile sponsored walk, which participants can enter on the day or in advance by visiting www.guidedogs.org.uk/barkinthepark or calling
tel: 0845 307 0 307.

The six venues confirmed are Heaton Park, Manchester; Pollok Country House and Park, Glasgow; Blaise Castle, Bristol; Gloucester Park, Basildon, Essex; Castle Ward, Belfast; and Fonmon Castle, Cardiff.

Shades Day

Carrying on the celebrations, Shades Day takes place on 30th June. Many thousands of people will wear their sunglasses and ‘look cool’ for the Guide Dogs national fundraising ‘spec-tacular’, Shades Day 2006! The event will help Guide Dogs raise awareness of the importance of protecting your eyes from the sun, whilst having fun raising money to ensure more visually impaired people can benefit from a guide dog in the future. For more information or an information pack visit www.shadesday.org.uk or tel: 0845 600 6787.

Gala Day
The summer of fun will end with Guide Dogs’ special 75th anniversary Gala Day being held at Moreton Morrell Agricultural College, Warwickshire, on 1st July. The Gala Day will be an action-packed event for the entire family and will include the chance to meet lots of guide dogs, puppies and other assistance dogs. There will also be dog displays, health advice and training workshops for dog owners, music, refreshments and a host of other entertainments.

The charity hopes many thousands of people will get involved in the summer of 75th anniversary celebrations, all helping to celebrate the Wallasey pioneers and the work of The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association.