Adopting a failed or retired guide dog.

[Strawberrycheesecake7]

Has anyone done this? Was it a good experience and how long did the process take? I just applied and am waiting to hear back from them.

We started fostering in-training guide dogs but actually had a series of dogs (all lovely) who didn't make the grade and stayed with us until they were re-homed. We naturally fell into the trap with dog number 4 and after 5 months fostering, adopted her ourselves. The adoption process can be quite slow as GDs process is quite thorough and the workload for rehoming staff quite heavy.

My former colleague has one. One thing to be aware of is that the dog won’t be used to spending time on its own, I hadn’t thought of that! So she was fine, until she changed jobs.

A family member adopted a failed assistance dog from a charity. He is a gorgeous dog and they have had absolutely no problems with him or the adoption process although I think the waiting lists are long at the moment.

I thought about this. Then I just got a Labrador puppy. I didn't have to go on a three year waiting list either, It's not like you are rehoming an unwanted dog from a shelter.

A friend of mine took a retired guide dog (golden retriever) and it was a lovely, well behaved member of her family. She had it for a good few years before it died. Not sure how long the adoption process took though.