On Wednesday I did one of the routes we had done many times over the two weeks with 3 people following. In my head it was the worst walk of the two weeks and I cried at the end. One of the people following was from kennels and she had done a lot of work with Annie and she cried because of how well Annie worked and how good she was. It’s amazing what two people can take from one walk. I am always very critical of myself and I want to be the very best that I can be.

Now I have had a few days to sleep on it I don’t think it was a bad walk and considering we are only two and a half weeks into the partnership we have come a long way. After the walk I was taken to my room where I signed on the dotted line and handed over the 50p. It’s always a proud moment when you have handed over the 50p and you know you can go out alone.

In the evening we had a meal to celebrate the end of class. It was lovely to eat somewhere different. I couldn’t have hoped for better people to share this experience with than the 3 lovely people on my class and the 2 trainers. We all got on very well and had a lot of fun and laughter. So thank you to everyone for keeping my spirits up even when I was struggling being away from home and with my mental health.

We have now been home a few days and we have done a big local route to the gym and the vets where we got soaked. Annie is starting to settle in. My mum came with Sandie yesterday and we took the two dogs to Tynemouth for a lovely free run. Sandie can’t play chase much because of her arthritis but she did play a little with Annie.

I will write more over the next few weeks as Annie settles in and learns some routes.