In a unique collaboration, South Western Railway (SWR) and Guide Dogs have orchestrated a special training session for a group of guide dog puppies at the Portsmouth and Southsea station.
The session forms part of the dogs' essential training to become indispensable companions for people with sight loss.
A mix of Labrador and Golden Retriever puppies, aged between six and fourteen months, spent a morning acquainting themselves with the bustling railway environment for the first time.
Jive, Sally, Florence, and Dougie are just a handful of the 200 pups undergoing training across the South West and Wales, contributing to nearly 1,200 trainees across the UK.
The young trainees, accompanied by experienced Guide Dogs staff, volunteers, and supportive SWR colleagues, enthusiastically took their lessons. They practised essential skills such as boarding and alighting train services, navigating the gap between the train and the platform, and maintaining calm while on board.
As part of their comprehensive training, these future guide dogs must adapt to various experiences and environments, preparing them to offer reliable support to their prospective owners in any situation.
SWR arranged for an extended dwelling train on Platform 3 at the Hampshire station to facilitate this unique training session. There is estimated to be two million people in the UK living with sight loss many of whom rely of public transport including railways.
SWR carries guide dogs free of charge on their services and offers a free upgrade to first class for anyone travelling with a guide if no standard class seating is available.
The event marks the first in a series of sessions that SWR will facilitate in partnership with Guide Dogs over the coming weeks and months. These initiatives highlight the significant investment in time and resources required to train these extraordinary dogs and emphasise the transformative roles they will play in the lives of people with sight loss.
Peter Williams, Customer and Commercial Director for South Western Railway, commented: “We are delighted to support Guide Dogs as we know what a difference a canine companion can make for helping customers with sight loss to travel with confidence on the railway.
“SWR is committed to creating an inclusive customer experience for all our customers, making it as easy and reliable as possible to travel on our network.
“We encourage anybody requiring assistance with their journeys to get in touch beforehand or speak to a colleague in person and we would be very happy to help.”
Leanne Kelly, Puppy Development Advisor for Guide Dogs, commented:
“We would like to thank SWR for the opportunity to introduce our puppies to train travel. I'm pleased to say that the morning went well, and the puppies and volunteers had a very positive experience. The train staff were very helpful and very conscientious of both the young puppies and the volunteer puppy raisers present.
“We rely on the wider community to help us prepare our pups to become life-changing guide dogs, and experience all the things they might come across in that role. These sessions with SWR do exactly that.”
