Andrew our sponsored Irish Guide Dog for the Blind loves to work hard, rest hard & play hard! What a good boy he is training for Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind 
Find out more about this wonderful life changing charity on their website - https://www.guidedogs.ie/
As you can see, Hank is growing into a handsome young man for sure. He is great with other animals and takes his role at the allotment Bernadette and her husband have very seriously indeed :)
Everyone needs a bit of play time! April, our sponsored Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind sponsored puppy and her friends are having a ball together and learning how to share their toys. Her puppy raiser Amanda says she loves being out and about! Thanks for the photos Amanda :)
Champ has been busy over the last few months. At the Botanical Gardens in June. Lunch at Skerries Mills in July. Coffee on the pier in Howth in Aug. He's loving life!
We're delighted that Champ, Izzy and Hank are all really going well in their training and likely to make their way to Cork for formal training in late September or early October.
This is a lovely photo of Aska, one of our sponsored Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind.
She is doing really well on her training - here she is on a trip to Croke Park!
Find out more about Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind on their website -
Follow and Like them on their Social Media platforms :
https://www.facebook.com/irishguidedogs
https://www.instagram.com/irishguidedogs/
Izzy is in great form and was on a spot of sightseeing locally last weekend in Glendalough.
Emma, her puppy raiser, is delighted with progress to date as their time together shortens.
Wow - Andrew, our sponsored Irish Guide Dog in training is doing so well. We received this update on how he is doing in his training.
Andrew’s training has been coming on a treat. He is now just over a year old and about to head off to Cork for his adult training. When he is out and about on a training walk, he goes about the business of leading, walking calmly.
He is now good at ignoring the enticing smells of lamp posts - focussing instead on the treats he gets for doing so. He has been travelling on the Luas, a bus and in the car. He has not been able to enjoy the social life in cafes due to covid but has been very good at sitting down under park benches in preparation for a cafe lifestyle.
He is very aware of people. He walks up the stairs slowly next to me, waiting on the return for me to turn to go up the next flight of stairs. Although he is very sociable, he prioritises a call or whistle from me over playing with his friends - he has great recall. He is learning to avoid distractions when in a “wait” in a sit or down position.
On free runs Andrew is very sociable and likes to play with dogs of equal energy. Although he is no toughie when it comes to other dogs, he shows his confidence and belief in aiming high when it comes to what he thinks of as sticks but are, in reality, logs, as you can see in the photographs.
It's really fantastic to hear how he is learning and progressing as well as what he is good at and what are his favourite things to do. We are very excited for his future.
Find out more about Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind on their website:
Follow and Like them on their Social Media platforms :
As part of the sponsorship Rosie and Jim are funding three puppies for two years. The €30,000 sponsorship covers the dogs vitally important training.
With more than 13,000 registered blind people in Ireland and over 250,000 people impacted by autism, the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind works tirelessly to facilitate those affected by providing them guide and assistance dogs. The average cost of training a dog is in the region of €53,000 and the charity rely on 85% of their funding through sponsorship like this and fundraising to continue to deliver their vital services for free throughout Ireland.
Director of Rosie and Jim, Rosie, says;
At the announcement, John Burke of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind said:
Hank - our handsome boy enjoying his last few weeks with his puppy raiser Bernadette.
The pups will make their way to Cork in the next few weeks for year 2 and formal training will begin.
Exciting times for all three of them - though they are sure to miss their puppy raisers.
Champ with his puppy raiser, Kathy and some adorable photos of him with her grandkids.
These are the last few weeks that Kathy and Champ are together as he will head to HQ in Cork soon for formal training.
It must be very difficult to say goodbye to such a gorgeous dog. Well done on raising a fabulous puppy Kathy!
We're so proud of April - our gorgeous sponsored Irish Guide Dog for the blind. We received this lovely update on how she is progressing.
April is excelling in her training.
She loves going on her training walks to shops and cafes but especially loves going out with her room mate ambassador dog Yanson. He has been a great help in showing her the ropes. She has great recall so gets to enjoy some time off running around the Dublin mountains. We are hoping that April will be picked for breeding so that other puppies can take on her amazing personality! We will miss her dearly but know that she is destined for greater things.
We can't imagine having to say goodbye to her.
Champ is settling in to lovely Howth and is enjoying being beside the sea, which he loves.
Kathy is going through early socialisation training with Champ at the moment and introducing him slowly to more and more crowded public spaces. She will work continuously with her dedicated puppy raising supervisor now to gauge Champ’s reactions to certain situations and how he is settling in at home with Kathy.
Kathy is an experienced raiser and supporter of Irish Guide Dogs.
Rosie & Jim
Muirfield Industrial Estate, Muirfield Drive
Naas Road, Dublin 12
Ireland. D12 FF20
Tel: +353 1 460 5900
Email: customerservice@rosieandjim.ie
