Meet the baker’s dozen of puppies set to become guide dogs in 2027
A charity tackling sight loss has welcomed an extraordinary “baker’s dozen” guide dog to celebrate its biggest litter in three years.
To mark the above-average litter size, Guide Dogs HQ in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, gave 13 puppies baking-inspired names.
Boys are called Biscuit, Crumble, Bagel, Crumpet, Rye, Tiger and Pretzel, and girls are called Apple, Eccles, Cocoa, Chelsea, Custard and Ginger.
The pup was born to four-year-old Golden Retriever-Labrador cross Yori at a home in Chipping Camden in August.
Ten of the puppies were raised by their mother, Yori, while three were raised by another guide dog mother with a younger pup of the same age.
All the puppies, now eight weeks old, were reunited at the National Center for Guide Dogs.
They will soon go to volunteer “puppy breeders” in the UK and will become service dogs in 2027.
The charity is the world’s largest breeder and trainer of working dogs, with around 1,350 puppies starting their journey to becoming guide dogs each year.
Breeding, training and training just one service dog for the partnership costs the charity £77,000. This figure has more than doubled in six years, with costs standing at £34,600 in 2019.
Janine Dixon, head of breeding and welfare operations at Guide Dogs, said: “We didn’t know Yori had so many buns in the oven as it’s so hard to count puppies during pregnancy.
“She was a very simple crybaby at home and is an excellent mother. We are thrilled that all 13 children are successful thanks to the hard work of our volunteers and staff.”
The puppies will now be allocated to dog breeders across the UK to help them develop into life-changing guide dogs by 2027.
“Each pup has a bright future and will hopefully become a guide dog that brings independence and mobility to someone with vision loss,” Ms Dixon added.
