 Observing somebody gain or regain their independence is a wonderful thing. I think it's underestimated how brave a lot of our clients are. I always had a can-do attitude. Kurt could still see then, so he can just remember how I looked when I was 18. But when I lost a lot of sight, I lost the confidence to do things. I'd wait for myself to come home from work so I could go for a walk. It was pretty tough. Eventually my husband said to me, why don't you get a guide dog? You know, because you're too scared to leave the house. I really don't know how I would have coped if guide dogs hadn't been there to provide their orientation mobility services and then to match me up with such a cool dog. And what we like to do is to try and show them how much fun they can have whilst getting a decent level of mobility. I'm lucky Tilla's a fast walker and so am I. So we overtake people walking down the street and she's looking for the opportunity to slide past and then when it presents herself we're off and around we go. She's just an awesome dog. She's almost like a person. It's the biggest thing, the freedom. It's like I was let out of jail. Oh, it's unbelievable that they opened up a new world. I just hold on to the harness and I follow her moves and she follows mine. With the dog I trust her so much that I trust her with the kids too. I wanted a dog that was going to improve my quality of life and my confidence and my independence and she's definitely done that. Well, I can't imagine being without one. It means that I can actually go places that I hadn't been before knowing that I've got something that tells me where I am and also a dog that can get me around the obstacles. Always my little mate that's there and she's always happy. Just got to pet her or give her a treat and she'll wag a tail. I want a guide dog when I'm old.