German Shepherd Assistance Dogs for Blind Adults
From November 2020 - June 2021 I was honoured and privileged to donate to the Pathfinder Dogs through Facebook star donations. So many kind followers of 'Friends of Derek Acorah' followed my live psychic streams and gave so generously. Thank you to each and every person who made a difference.
The founder, Anne Royle (who is blind herself) discovered there was a long waiting list for a new German Shepherd guide once her old one had retired. She felt that a waiting time for mobility of up to 3 years was a very long time and decided to do something to help ease the situation.
Initially, to make sure there was a demand for German Shepherd guides, Anne completed 4 different surveys of the blind community throughout the United Kingdom. These surveys came back as a resounding YES for more German Shepherds, as well as a resounding YES for in-depth, controlled, residential centre training.
Since that time Anne has registered Pathfinder Dogs as a charity – in Scotland SCO35007 and in England & Wales 1137722 as well as a Limited Company by Guarantee. Our company name and charity name is Pathfinder Guide Dog Programme, however, we trade as Pathfinder Dogs. They are completely independent of any other organisation.
Anne and her group of loyal volunteers can be seen on street collections throughout Scotland as well as speaking to community groups and companies about blindness and dogs as a whole. Anne has a solid background in the dog world having worked with dogs for over 35 years, she herself says “you never know it all and there is always something new to learn in the dog world."
Pathfinder Dogs qualified our first 2 working dogs in 2010. We plan to recruit at least 2 puppies each year to enable us to continue and grow until we complete the construction of our training village. They will be entering into their own breeding programme once they have the training village built and the facilities on the grounds to take care of these puppies and their parents.
How to Support Pathfinder Dogs
Please go to their website: