She’s my guide, my eyes, and she’s my friend as well

THE ability to get around is vital in order to live a full life, yet thousands of blind people never leave home alone – getting a guide dog can change all that.

Alan Fletcher, who is registered blind, relies totally on his Labrador-retriever cross Nutmeg.

“She’s my guide, my eyes, and she’s my friend as well, I wouldn’t be without her,” said the 68-year-old from Stratton, who is stepping down after eight years as chairman of Swindon Guide Dogs.

During that time Alan and his team have raised £550,000 to sponsor the puppies that offer a lifeline to visually impaired people.

He became chairman after joining the Swindon branch as a volunteer.

He said: “I was asked to be chairman and I thought, yes, I’ll give it a try. Getting the name of Guide Dogs for the Blind out there was my focus, raising awareness and funds – and it really took off.

“We have spoken to loads of schools and groups – I took my first guide dog Joy, and now Nutmeg, with me and everyone loved meeting them. I worked out we have spoken to around 26,000 people over the years!

“The generosity of the people of Swindon and around has been amazing and we are so grateful. And I couldn’t have done it without the support and help of my wife, Shirley — she has been wonderful.”

During his chairmanship Alan inspired support from many Swindon businesses including Burmah Castrol, who raised £50,000, Swindon Phoenix Rotary Club, who sponsored six puppies, and WRc, who sponsored two. And the names chosen often reflect the sponsors’ line of business, such as Mini, named by BMW Swindon, and Sparky named by Npower.

Alan moved to Swindon when he was a teenager. His father and two brothers worked at the Rover factory. After leaving school he did an apprenticeship at RA Lister before joining the rest of the family working at the car factory. He became a toolmaker and was engineer manager for the plant when he took early retirement after 36 years in 2005, due to his failing eyesight.

Alan’s sight problems started in the early 2000s when he started to lose definition with his vision.

“Going from light into dark was particularly bad, it would takes ages for my eyes to readjust,” he explained.

In 2005 Alan was diagnosed with retinal dystrophy and was registered blind that year, resulting in him taking early retirement. He had very little sight in his left eye and limited sight in his right, and he decided to apply for his first guide dog. Black Labrador Joy came to live with the Fletchers in May 2006.

“Joy changed our lives,” said Alan. “She gave us back our independence. Before that, Shirley had to drive me to the doctors, chemist, the hairdresser, the newsagents – everywhere – but now I had Joy to guide me there.

“Each morning we’d go on a nice long walk to the newsagents to get the daily paper – they used to look at me a bit strange about that, until they realised it was for Shirley to read!”

In 2009 Alan suffered another blow when he was diagnosed with cancer behind his right eye.

“That was my ‘good’ eye, and the consultant told me I was a really unlucky chap because the cancer was unrelated to the retinal dystrophy.

“I went to St Bart’s Hospital in London and they told me that the treatment would leave me totally blind in the right eye. They sewed a radioactive plaque onto the back of the eye. I was then put in isolation and five days later they removed the plaque.

“The doctors said it would take three to four years for the tumour to stabilise, and it has worked – it has killed the cancer. I just go back once a year for a check-up.

“Although I’d been coping with the loss of my sight since the first diagnosis of retinal dystrophy and had been through the ‘why me?’ stage, after the cancer treatment I was more or less totally blind, and it was quite a learning curve.

“But I knew I couldn’t change anything so it was a matter of trying to get on with life.”

And Joy played a big part, but then tragedy struck.

“It was Whitsun bank holiday Sunday – although she was as good as gold, Joy wasn’t well.

“We took her to the vet and the diagnosis was that she was riddled with cancer – because she was a trained guide dog she had been as loyal and stoical as ever and was just getting on with her job of looking after me, although she must have been in pain.

“She was put to sleep that afternoon – we were devastated. Joy gave me mobility, confidence and independence, and she was gone.

“It was a massive blow, and I was back to using a white cane – which I hate. When I was with Joy I was safe, and I had her to talk to – and other people talked to us too. They would love to say hello to Joy.”

But Alan’s life got back on the right track after five months with the arrival of his guide dog Nutmeg, who has now been with him for three-and-a-half years.

Guide Dogs for the Blind are fully trained before they are matched to their owner. Applicants are first assessed for their suitability to have a dog, and then they go on a waiting list – it is currently about a year-long.

Dogs are matched to owners based on their individual requirements. For example, some people work and need to go on the bus or train and perhaps negotiate escalators and so on, while others have more sedentary requirements.

“The trainer then comes along with the dog and goes out with the potential owner to see how they get on, and whether owner and dog are happy,” Alan explained.

“And then when the dog moves in, the trainer oversees a three-week training programme – the dog has to learn the different routes the owner takes.

“It’s a bit scary at first with a new dog – you need to build trust. I would say it takes around six-to-nine months for you to bond, and by then the dog has settled down and it’s just lovely.

“Nutmeg knows me and what I want. I’m the only one who feeds or grooms her. She comes nearly everywhere with me – even to the pub. She knows the way there and, more importantly, the way back, and she walks in a straight line!” Alan laughed.

Puppies are often named by those who raise or donate the money to sponsor guide dogs. It costs £5,000 to train and care for a guide dog for the first year, or £10,000 up until it completes its full training and goes to live with its owner.

Alan’s first dog, Joy, was born into a ‘H’ litter, where all the puppies would have names beginning with H. She was going to be called Hyacinth, but the sponsor wanted to name her in memory of his mother, Joy, who had just passed away from cancer.

“So she was Joy, and she brought so much joy,” said Alan.

“My mum passed away at the age of 93 three weeks before Joy was put to sleep. We knew mum didn’t have long so we were prepared, but losing Joy was so sudden. Losing both of them broke our hearts.”

As a tribute to his beloved guide dog, Alan set up the ‘4Joy’ appeal with the aim of raising £20,000 to sponsor four guide dog puppies.

“Everyone got involved – we had jumping4Joy, swimming4Joy, washingcars4Joy, and lots more,” Alan smiled.

“After 18 months the appeal stood at £50,000, which was amazing. We were able to sponsor nine puppies. The generosity of people is wonderful and I can’t thank them enough.”

But it’s nice to know that guide dogs aren’t complete saints.

Alan laughed as he revealed: “One day we were doing a collection at Swindon Town football club – one guy was holding a burger as he bent down to put money in our bucket, and a guide dog snaffled it!”

With his retirement as chairman, he and Shirley, 66, plan to enjoy more leisure time, including travel. They go to Tenerife twice a year and to Malaysia for a month at Christmas.

It’s too hot for Nutmeg, so she gets a holiday too and goes to stay with friends.

Anyone interested in the voluntary role of chairman of Swindon Guide Dogs can contact the southern mobility team on 01189 838892 or email hazel.dyson@guidedogs.org.uk.