by Angela Cole
acole@thekmgroup.co.uk

THEY may be the cutest bundles of fluff, but guide dog puppies also have a serious job to do.
Puppies who make the grade spend months training hard to become the eyes of a blind or partially sighted person.
Now the joy of watching a playful puppy grow up into a fully trained guide dog will be on offer for all readers of the Kent Messenger in the coming weeks and months as we launch our 150th anniversary appeal, Puppy Love.
We want to raise at least £5,000 to sponsor a guide dog puppy of our own.

Companion

We will be able to follow its pawprints all the way through from leaving its mother and the rest of the litter, to learning to cope with busy traffic and the hustle and bustle of a town centre as it trains with staff based at Turkey Mill in Ashford Road, Maidstone, and on to being chosen to become a blind or partially-sighted person’s seeing companion.
But we don’t want to stop there. We hope to raise thousands for the Guide Dogs registered charity, and even the smallest of donations will help. Our initial £5,000 target supports a guide dog puppy through its training, but £600 feeds a litter of puppies for six months, and just £25 provides two dog beds.
If all you can give is £5, it could buy a dog grooming kit for one of the charity’s dogs.
Devina Solanki, regional fund-raising manager, said: “We’re delighted that Guide Dogs has been chosen by KM as its charity of the year.
“We rely on voluntary donations to fund the guide dog service, transforming the lives of blind and partially sighted people. And we encourage readers to get involved in the exciting fund-raising activities the newspaper’s planning throughout 2009.”
As the KM’s chosen charity this year, 75 per cent of all the money raised by participants in the Fremlin Walk abseil in April will go to the appeal. Other charity events organised by the KM through the year will also raise money for the appeal.
Kent Messenger editor Bob Bounds said: “There are so many deserving charities, but with Guide Dogs we hope to provide a lasting help to the community.
“Our KM-sponsored guide dog companion, or maybe more than one, will support someone who really needs it for up to 10 years. For that, £5,000 seems a small price to pay.”