Exeter Airport recently welcomed some VIP visitors as guide dog puppies descended for a dedicated training day to give them new experiences.
Thirteen guide dog puppies and their volunteer puppy raisers visited the airport as part of the pups’ preparation to become future guide dogs.
The puppies, around 12-months old, got to experience all the sights, sounds and smells of a working airport including going through security, exploring duty free, and planes landing and taking off.
With many registered guide dog owners in Exeter and surrounds being regular visitors to the travel hub or bigger airports like Heathrow, visits such as this are an important part of early training for guide dog puppies. The training will help them to feel comfortable and confident in the sort of environments that a guide dog owner might choose to go to.
In three classes of four to five puppies, the pups and their puppy raisers were given a tour by airport staff, taking in areas such as check-in, cafes and shops, departure lounges, arrivals and luggage reclaim.
Puppies got to practise skills such as ‘sit’ and ‘down’ in different places around the airport and were rewarded with treats for behaving calmly and ignoring distractions in an unfamiliar new setting.
Leah Rogers, Guide Dogs area Puppy Raising Manager, said:
“Our amazing volunteer puppy raisers look after our puppies in their homes for about a year, before the pups start their formal training.
“A big part of early training is socialisation and getting the puppies used to different environments, so being able to visit Exeter Airport for a puppy class was fantastic.
“Thank you so much to all the airport staff for welcoming us and showing us around. They couldn’t have been more helpful.”
Exeter Airport managing director Stephen Wiltshire said:
“We are proud to support Guide Dogs and their vital work in preparing future guide dogs to navigate busy travel environments with confidence. At Exeter Airport, we are committed to ensuring an inclusive and accessible experience for all passengers, including those with visual impairments and other needs.
“Welcoming these wonderful puppies and their dedicated volunteer raisers was a valuable experience for our staff, helping them to better understand the needs of guide dog users and enhance the support we provide.” For more information on volunteering opportunities in Devon for Guide Dogs, visit www.guidedogs.org.uk/volunteering
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