My 50 years with guide dogs


24 January 2007 09:28

They are often known as man's best friend, but to Bill Cox the eight dogs he has owned during the past 50 years mean so much more.

The 83-year-old is blind and for half a century his four-legged friends have been indispensable.

Mr Cox, of Reedham, near Norwich, went blind at the age of 11 months, baffling doctors at the time, but it was not until 1957 that he was given his first guide dog, Jill. Since then he has shared his life with a further seven dogs.

He said: “I remember when I first got Jill, my first dog, we had to have a trainer with us, and I couldn't believe how fast I could move around with her. The trainer was telling me to keep up.

“I was walking in the middle of the pavement, not just sliding down the wall with my white stick. It was a fantastic feeling.”

The married father-of-three remembers all eight of his dogs fondly from Jill, who loved to sit in the driver's cab on steam engines watching as coal was shovelled into the fire, to Pixie, Osmond, Zest, Yokel, Oban, Merlin and now Valiant, a yellow Golden Retriever Labrador cross.

He said: “They became like part of the family. Each one had a personality of his or her own. It was fantastic having the dogs, it meant I could take the kids to the beach at Sheringham and Cromer - they even helped me to get jobs.”

Bill Cox going for a walk around Reedham with his eighth guide dog, Valliant.

When he got Jill he was a switchboard operator and had moved from London to the Heartsease estate in Norwich to live with his wife, Beryl, and their two sons, Jeff and Christopher.

He had always wanted to be a social worker for other blind people and, thanks to the freedom the dogs gave him, he was able to fulfil this dream.

He said: “All my dogs could find their way around Liverpool Street station and after I got the job they learned my rounds as a social worker really quickly. They knew whose house was next. I really couldn't have done it without them. I taught other blind people handicrafts, basket making and chair caning.”

He and his latest canine partner live in Reedham with his wife. In September they will celebrate a second milestone, their diamond anniversary. They married in 1947, have three children Christopher, 57, Bill , 46, and Francesca, 38. Jeff died in a car crash in 1991.

Mr Cox added: “Valiant is great. He's part of the family. I say to him, 'post office' and off he goes, or 'pub', and he'll sit there until I finish my drink.”

To see pictures of Mr Cox with all of his guide dogs visit our website at www.eveningnews24.co.uk

Have you got a heart-warming story about a family pet? Call Katie Cooper on 01603 772326 or e-mail katie.cooper@archant.co.uk

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