"Helen Smith was cleaning her bathroom and listening to the radio, some time after the pandemic, when a story came on about a shortage of guide dogs. The pandemic had made it hard to breed puppies. One vision-impaired owner faced a two-year wait for a new dog. Knowing the importance of her own relationship with dogs, Smith was overcome with sadness for him. Right then, she thought, Well, what am I going to do with the rest of my life?"
"Dogs had been part of Smith's family life since she was born. My mum had type 1 diabetes. Unfortunately, she had a miscarriage, and lost her first child. My dad bought her a wire hair fox terrier puppy, called Nimby, to try to get her over this. After Smith came along, there were no further children, and Nimby was like a sibling. I had a little tricycle and Dad made a pull-along trailer. There are pictures of Nimby sitting in there, me cycling up and down"
Helen Smith heard a radio story about a shortage of guide dogs after the pandemic and felt compelled to change her life. She moved from Shropshire to southern Hesse, Germany, in 1998 for her husband's work and raised two daughters there. In 2011 her husband Paul died suddenly from a virus that affected his heart, leaving Smith to decide whether to return to England or stay and support the family. She chose to stay, grew her tutoring and English-teaching work, and relied on a succession of dogs for comfort, practical help and emotional continuity.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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