Guide dog puppy Rainbow, named by staff at Sainsbury’s Chippenham, has met her sponsors at the store this week.

Staff and customers donated the £5,000 needed by Guide Dogs to put a puppy through its first year of socialisation training and have been following Rainbow’s journey so far.

The store has long supported their local Chippenham and Corsham Guide Dogs fundraising group, naming many guide dogs over the years including Chipper (the winning name suggested by Chippenham Brownies), Mary, Bradley and Terri.

Staff suggested the latest name ‘Rainbow’ as a tribute to NHS staff who have worked tirelessly during the coronavirus pandemic.

Richard Perry, store manager at Sainsbury’s Chippenham said: “We were delighted to have the opportunity to name another puppy.

“Our colleagues at the store suggested some great names, but after a vote, Rainbow was clearly the favourite.

"I would like to thank our customers for their donations, without them this wouldn’t have been possible.”

The pup is now eight months old and learning all the basic obedience she needs to know with her volunteer puppy raiser before she heads off to guide dog school.

It’s incredibly rare to see a chocolate Labrador within the Guide Dogs breeding programme. Rainbow was born into a litter with nine black siblings, to yellow Labrador mum Lulu in December 2020.

Her arrival surprised Guide Dogs staff, who haven’t seen a chocolate Labrador guide dog puppy for more than four years, despite the charity being the largest breeder of working dogs in the world.

Of the 5000 guide dogs working across the UK today, just five are chocolate Labradors - a rate of 0.1% - despite the colour being popular with pet owners. Very few Labradors in Guide Dog’s world-leading breeding programme carry the ‘chocolate gene’ and it is recessive, meaning it is less likely to be expressed.

Gemma Spencer, community fundraising manager at Guide Dogs, said: “Sainsbury’s has done an incredible thing by naming a guide dog puppy. We rely on donations to continue our life-changing work and to give £5,000 is simply wonderful.

“Every hour, someone in the UK starts to lose their sight and this kind support will allow us make a life-changing difference to someone living with sight loss.”

If you would like to find out more about the Name a Puppy project please visit www.guidedogs.org.uk/nap or call Guide Dogs on 0800 781 1444.

The charity relies on the support of the local community: without your time and donations, Guide Dogs would not be able to provide its life changing services.