When Emma applied for a guide dog, she hoped it would make her commute for work easier. What she didn’t expect is how much being partnered with guide dog Archie would improve and change every part of her life for the better. From making the busy London streets easier to navigate, to increasing her confidence at work and at home, Emma says she can’t imagine her life without Archie by her side.
The bond I have with Archie is so strong. He’s my eyes, my left arm, he’s my best friend. Archie has made me so much more confident in myself – he has absolutely changed my life.
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Emma’s sight loss
“As a child I didn’t realise I had a vision impairment, I think I was quite good at masking it. It was only when I was six that my parents noticed I was squinting and sitting really close to the TV and they took me to the opticians. They quickly realised something wasn’t right and I was referred to Moorfields Eye Hospital where I was diagnosed with a genetic condition – cone rod dystrophy.
Throughout school I was wearing glasses, and I thought they would correct my vision like everyone else. So, I didn’t understand why I was still struggling to see the white board, or the lines on the paper or to catch the ball. I thought I just wasn’t trying hard enough.
It wasn’t until my late teens, a doctor explained that my sight could never be corrected and it was slowly getting worse. Then a doctor mentioned eventually ‘going blind’ and that felt really scary.
When I left school in my teens my sight loss really started to affect me. I thought because I am blind I wouldn’t be able to work or do the things I love like dance and performing. I stumbled across a class called core stability which was basically Pilates. I remember thinking wow this is so cool and something I really wanted to do. I spoke to my family who supported me in training to become a Pilates instructor. It all just finally clicked. I had this mindset that if you believe you can do something, you can do it and just because you have a disability, that shouldn’t hold you back. And now I’m a qualified Pilates instructor.”
Support from Guide Dogs
When Emma first started teaching Pilates classes she used her white cane, and remaining vision, to help her navigate the busy streets.
“Using a white cane does give you independence, but it’s also hard work. I was getting headaches, and wrist pain. And I just remember thinking my Pilates business is growing, and I’m getting really tired from all the travel, so maybe a guide dog would be the next step.
When I applied to Guide Dogs, I hoped that a guide dog would bring me confidence to weave in and out of the London crowds a bit easier. Also growing up with dogs, I thought it would be really cool to have a dog with you 24/7.
When I got the phone call to say they’d found me a match I just burst into tears. I even cancelled my hen do to go straight into training with Archie, and I’ve never regretted it!”
Life with my guide dog Archie
Walking with Archie now I feel like I’m flying. When you’re working with your guide dog and have that bond it’s just the most amazing thing.
“Since being partnered with Archie, my confidence has grown massively. I can walk to the shops on my own now, post a parcel and I wouldn’t have done that before. When we travel into busy London Archie just weaves me through the crowds, he’ll find me the door or take me to the steps. Every single day he just amazes me with how smart and clever he is.
Before, when I was teaching my classes, I’d be a bit worried about tripping over someone’s mat. But now I just stroll in, and everyone loves Archie. I used to feel like I was seen as this poor blind girl, but now everyone wants to have a class with the Pilates instructor with the lovely dog!
My Pilates classes are very much about showing and empowering people to do whatever they want to do – whether that’s after an illness or injury, or with a disability – we may need to find a different way, but you absolutely can still do it.
Then at home, when he’s off duty he is so loving, and he enjoys his playtime and cuddles. He’s much more than a guide dog to me, he’s my best friend.”
Reaching out to say thank you
Archie didn’t just come like this, he’s the amazing guide dog because of all the people who helped him right from being a puppy. From his puppy raisers, his fosterers, his trainers, to all the people who support Guide Dogs. I am so grateful to all of them.
Archie was one of Guide Dogs’ sponsored puppies born in 2019. From eight weeks old, over a two-year period, thousands of Sponsor a Puppy supporters followed Archie’s journey from puppy to training to becoming a partnership with Emma. And Emma says she is very aware of all the people who helped to make Archie the amazing guide dog he is today.
“Straight away when I qualified with Archie, I knew I wanted to get in touch with all the people who were part of his journey. It was really important to me to be able to say thank you. I reached out to Archie’s Puppy Raisers, Jackie and Andy, so we could have a catch up and I could show them who Archie’s become and what he means to me.
There are so many people, like Jackie and Andy, who volunteered their time like the fosterers, the people who look after Archie’s mum. But also, the people who generously donated money to help pay for his training. Without people supporting Guide Dogs, I don’t know where I would be.
Often, we will meet people in the street who say, ‘I sponsored a guide dog puppy called Archie’. And I then get to tell them this is him; this is Archie! It’s amazing because then they see us together and see where their money has gone and how they helped change my life.
When I was first told about Archie, and that he was part of Sponsor a Puppy, I went online and started watching all the videos and Pupdates with him. At the end it says, ‘One day this dog will change someone’s life’, and that is exactly what he has done for me. I just want to say thank you to everyone who has been a part of his journey.
The amount of confidence I’ve gained, and the difference having a guide dog has made in my life is everything I was hoping for and more.”