Allergies leave blind woman without guide dog

A woman says she fears for her blind mother's safety after family pet allergies prevented her from getting a new guide dog.

Carly Watson said her mother Isabel Holdsworth had relied on guide dogs for 40 years, but has been without one since her last dog retired.

Isabel, who is also hearing impaired, said she no longer felt safe going out alone, having recently suffered a broken rib in a fall and been involved in a crash with an electric car.

The charity Guide Dogs said no breed was 100% hypoallergenic and it offered alternative support where its guide dog service was not suitable.

Isabel moved from Northern Ireland to live near her daughter and grandchildren in Malvern, Worcestershire.

She said her last dog, Obie, a Labrador-retriever cross, had triggered an asthma attack in one of her grandchildren despite meeting outside the family home.

"At that point, I was torn between having a dog and spending time with the children," she said.

"I'm an animal lover and so I didn't want to leave him more than four hours at a time. So I was spending less and less time with the children and I made the reluctant decision to retire the dog."

Carly said she and her mother have both been blind from birth because of Leber congenital amaurosis (LCA), an inherited eye condition.

Isabel, who has had a guide dog from the age of 18, said: "I have a hearing impairment as well and don't feel safe with a cane, I don't think it meets my needs.

"I've had two accidents in the past eight weeks. I've had a broken rib from falling down the side of the driveway out here and I've had an electric car run over my toes."

Carly said guide dogs had been a vital mobility aid that gave both women independence.

The dogs were trained to keep her mother in the middle of the pavement, she explained.

"My two previous dogs have jumped in front of me when I've been about to walk in front of silent electric cars," Isabel said.

"I'm feeling very anxious to the point that I am not going out very much on my own."

Carly said her mother had applied for a breed that was less prone to causing allergic reactions, such as a poodle or Irish Water Spaniel, but was turned down because of concerns over the children's allergies.

It meant the family would need to find £102,000, the cost of raising and supporting a guide dog themselves, she said, adding that they planned to fundraise.

Her mother now faced the "impossible choice" of risking her safety without a guide dog or not visiting her grandchildren regularly, Carly added.

"It's very, very sad," she said.

A Guide Dogs spokesperson said: "Whilst we cannot comment on individual cases, when someone contacts us for support, we discuss each person's needs in detail and look at which of our wide range of services would be most suitable for their life goals."

The charity said about 2% of its working guide dog population were poodle-cross Labrador retrievers, but no breed was 100% hypoallergenic.

"Allergies are often linked to dander rather than breed alone, and individual responses can vary significantly," they said.

The charity added if its guide dog service was not suitable because of the allergies of an individual or family member, it offered other services including long cane training and technology support, and would also signpost people to other organisations.

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