Long Eaton guide dog owner tells of emotional moment her daughter saw her qualify for latest dog

Claire Robotham, aged 34, was born deaf, but didn’t have any problems with her eyesight at first.

Then, at the age of twenty, she started suffering with headaches and began tripping over things.

After various tests, she was diagnosed with type two Usher Syndrome, a rare genetic condition, in November 2009.

Claire explains: “After giving birth to my daughter, Lily, a year later after my diagnosis, my sight worsened.

“I was left with very restrictive tunnel vision, and night and glare blindness.

“I couldn’t leave my house with Lily on my own and I had to go everywhere holding onto my now ex-husband’s arm and he became my full-time carer.

“Feeling extremely isolated, I decided I would contact Guide Dogs to see if a guide dog could help me.

“It was the start of big changes in my life and, more importantly, my daughter’s life.”

Eighteen months later, Claire qualified with her first guide dog Minnie.

Claire said: “She was the perfect guide dog for my first guide dog - she broke me in gently.

“By this point, Lily was three and attending a local nursery. With Minnie by my side, I was able to start walking Lily to nursery on my own, which was an amazing feeling.

“I no longer needed much support from my ex-husband. I could just walk outside the front door, take the harness and know that Minnie would take me wherever I wanted to go.

“It was just me and my guide dog and that felt pretty amazing – the world was my oyster.”

Minnie retired when she was nine due to arthritis, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Claire explains: “It was a really difficult time. We were in the midst of a lockdown, and I had to dig my cane out and remind myself of how to use it.

“After two years on the waiting list, just before Christmas 2022, I was almost ready to give up, when I got a call to say they had found a match for me, a lovely little dog called Jacqui.

“I started training with her in January this year. It felt so good being able to walk with my shoulders up, my head up and almost switch off to the fact that I’ve got this guide dog guiding me.”

In the final stages of training, a Guide Dog Mobility Specialist from Guide Dogs visited Claire and Jacqui, to assess them walking together and Claire’s daughter was also able to watch the assessment taking place.

Claire was unaware that this assessment walk, which is carried out from a distance to avoid distracting the trainee guide dog involved, would determine if she were to qualify with Jacqui.

Claire explains: “I came home and waited for my trainer and Lily to get back when there was a knock at the door.

“My trainer was stood with my daughter and said: ‘Lily has something to tell you.’

“Lily said: ‘Mummy, you’ve just qualified.’

“Little did I know that I was walking my qualification route.

“I burst out crying when she told me. Lily was the reason I started this journey, getting my first guide dog all those years ago, and it meant the absolute world to me that my trainer let Lily tell me the news that I’d qualified with my second dog.

“Now myself, my new partner Becky, Lily, my retired guide dog Minnie and my new guide dog Jacqui all live together, and my life has completely changed for the better since I first got in touch with Guide Dogs.

“My sight has been stable over the last five years, but I could wake up tomorrow and it could be gone, or I could have the rest of my live with the sight that I have.

“Nothing is guaranteed, but knowing I have support from my family and Jacqui makes me feel less afraid.”

To find out more about sight loss charity Guide Dogs, visit guidedogs.org.uk