Hucknall businessman takes inspiration from Guide Dogs tale

Rob Sansom, 56, of oven valeting service Ovenu Nottingham North, is funding the training of Labrador pup Selsey as she works towards becoming a fully qualified guide dog

During Ovenu’s annual conference, Rob was further inspired by guest speaker George Upfield and his guide dog Yoko.

George was left severely visually impaired after suffering a childhood brain tumour.

He began volunteering with Guide Dogs and joined the charity as an administrator, later becoming an operations support coordinator.

He described the many aspects of its work and thanked everyone for their generous donations and puppy sponsorship.

Rob said: “George’s talk was inspirational and really brought home how important it is to sponsor the training of puppies like Selsey.

"Guide Dogs offer life-changing independence and freedom to people living with sight loss.

"However, it’s more than just mobility, because the companionship of a guide dog also brings positive psychological and social effects.”

Rik Hellewell, the founder and managing director of the Ovenu franchise, added: “George’s personal story was very moving, and he inspired us all to continue to support Guide Dogs’ valuable work.”

Jo Berry, the charity’s business development manager, said: “We would like to thank everyone at Ovenu for their continued support of Guide Dogs.

"Without the help of companies like Ovenu we would not be able to provide our life changing services to people living with sight loss.”

Ovenu has set up a Just Giving page that allows clients to make further donations to Guide Dogs, to donate, click here.