#internationalguidedogsday

Happy 90th International Guide Dogs Day 🦮 . . . Today marks the 90th anniversary of International Guide Dogs Day. As many of you are probably aware my guide dog Unity retired back in February. This was a past photo taken of us in 2019 back on one of our trips to Norfolk. I’m not going to lie, retiring my guide dog has been the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. But retiring my guide dog during a Pandemic? Well that’s an entirely different ballgame. Although she still lives with me as a pet dog. Life without her as my working partner has been incredibly difficult. I never really got used to using my long cane and I’ve never really been the kind of person to enjoy using it. Now I’m having to use it again until I eventually get my second guide dog it really makes me value just how much she has done for me. She gave me freedom and independence. Things you should never take for granted. People ask me what it was like before I had my guide dog Unity. For me, it honestly felt like I was living every day in my own private lockdown. Think about what it’s been like for you over lockdown, the restrictions, the isolation, the anxiety to go out into society. That is what it’s like for me without a guide dog every single day. The pandemic has had a massive impact on the charity sector, Guide Dogs included. Because of the massive restrictions we’ve all been in over the last few months, the charity hasn’t been able to train guide dogs and get new partnerships up and running. Things are beginning to resume normality and I live in hope that one day I will get that magical call to say that they’ve found me a match. I marvel at these dogs and the wonderful people who work so hard to train them to get them to where they need to be. These dogs change lives, spread not and bring hope. They are truly heroes that wear harnesses, not capes. . . . Photo Description: a photo of Emily and Unity sat together in the Norfolk Lavender Fields. #Accessibility . . . #InternationalGuideDogsDay #GuideDogs #Dogs #Labrador #LabradorRetriever #Blogger #Disability #DisabledPerson #MentalHealth (at Norfolk) https://www.instagram.com/p/COONy0Trj3h/?igshid=122wrv2iv0cm4