How Guide dogs made Leamington Spa its unofficial home

Until the early 1990s, guide dog owners would stay on-site at Edmonscote as they partnered with their new pups.

“People could come away and put all their troubles behind them, focus on the dog training and go away three weeks later with a four-legged friend almost ready to have the L-plates removed,” says Graham.

In 1973, Maggie Bowes was just 22 and petrified as she arrived from Essex.

“I didn’t even know how to put a dog lead on,” she says.

When she met her Golden Retriever Hoboe, the dog cried at the door for its trainer.

But, over a regimented four weeks, Maggie learned voice commands, foot positions and how to walk Hoboe around town.

Days after they left, the pair successfully navigated several trains and tubes to reach her office in central London.