Since June 2024, the local guide dogs branch have taken my housemates assistant dog off him without warning, without good reason and most of all, without due diligence. Back in June, I had to give my 2 dogs up when I moved in to help my friend who is registered blind. At the time, both guide dogs and the housing association were ok with it then "complaints" went in to say that the neighbours could hear a dog barking. There are many dogs in the area and the noise bounces off buildings. I gave mine up and on my friend's return from holiday, found my dogs not living at the property but they refused for a further week to return my mates assistant dog. Today, 9th December 2024, they called where the assistant dog was and my mate to say he was not coming back. The accusations like "The recycle bin was full on bin day and there was beer cans at the top" and in the 20+ years of my friend has had assistant dogs, they assume he wasn't treating them right, the day before a welfare (which is normally annually but been much more than that according to guide dogs national rules) check. As you can imagine, for me to get rid of mine and now for him to have his assistant dog taken from him without warning, it has deteriorated his mental health in the last few days and weeks. For a charity that is supposed to support their clients, they have not in this case but we fear this isn't the only time they have done this to their clients. This is on top that his recent issues over the last 7 months, things were not put on file that needed to be placed on file to make a formal note of some changes including a "ad hock" visit but due to other family issues, this is not possible due to personal circumstances as in his mom is on palliative care and has been for 5 months, around the the that the dog trainer was warned that ad hock was not an option in-case he had to go suddenly if his mom needed him or worse, passed away. 

Why I am setting this up is too make awareness and to try and persuade that the new contracts with clients (where essentially the client "fosters" the assistant dog and can be taken without warning where this has only come in on this current contract for new assistant dogs) that it is immoral, uncaring, mentally demoralising for anyone who has a dog (if you do, and this is not nationally, can get denied an assistant dog if you have a family pet dog). From what my friend has experienced, it has turned into something from care to victimisation and stalking (they "claim" they have seen personally the evidence of even the "place not being spotless" where they don't consider myself part of the house unit but blame if things are not done by the client).

Update: 29/12/24 It has now come to my knowledge that funding has been withdrawn by an association that was going to donate £3.5m to Guide Dogs UK. To put that in to some perspective: 

Breeding and training: Costs around £34,600
Supporting from birth to retirement: Costs around £54,800

This is a total of £89,400 for 1 dog.
That means, with the waiting list being so long, that another 39 people who need guide dogs due to the treatment of one person by a team who do not do due diligence check's even with "unfounded complaints" have cost Guide Dogs UK 39 people in need and the charity £3.5m. This is the minimum of this as I know others have cancelled their donations. I have also someone who has been in contact that this isn't an isolated occurrence. The team they were under did not do due diligence when they first applied. They went to another assistant dog charity who did do due diligence checks and said other assistant dog charity could only apologise for what Guide Dogs UK treated them.  

The rules need to be changed so that no others need to go through the mental heartbreak of what certain people within guide dogs do.

• The rule that if you have well behaved or retired assistance dog that they are not removed from the family unit (assistant dogs grow close to the client they are assigned to),
• if someone moves in to help due to personal circumstances, their pets if they have any are not removed from the person moving in
• that Ad Hock unless there is proof of abuse towards the assistance dog is not even considered especially when there are family issues which means you need to go away fast 
• and that any welfare concerns are discussed formally before any assistance dog is removed from the client and formally made a note of on the notes of the client.

This really cant continue. There can not be regional rules over national rules. There needs to be people who work for Guide Dogs who like all kind of dogs not treat it as a job. 

Many thanks for reading and hopeful signing 

Update: I've just added a pic of "the boy", Cliff

Update 22/12/24:

Today, after receiving the official complaints form which in itself, contradicts what they claim (not just in what is included in the "complaints" but also doesn't include the direct accusations on the call on the 02/12/24 phone call to say he wasn't coming back. Friday, the SAR has been filed and today, the complaints form has been returned.