A blind student who has reunited with her dog after months apart said she's "never felt so happy".
Kimberley Burrows, 32, was separated from her guide dog Tami in August, when she was hit with the devastating news that her pet needed to undergo surgery for several tumours.
After saying in the summer and spending a gruelling seven months apart, Tami is now "completely healed".
Kimberley, an art student, told Leeds Live that she felt "lonely and isolated" while shielding without her pet, who she said gives her "freedom".
But she was thrilled on Monday, when she recognised her dog's paws on the tiled floors of her student hall's reception.
Reuniting with her guide was "the best I've felt in the seven months since Tami has been away", Kimberley said.
"I could barely sleep on Sunday night knowing that she was finally returning to me on Monday.
“When I opened the reception door of [my] student accommodation I could hear her paws on the tiled floor, I just wanted to cry happy tears.
“Instead, I rushed forward and knew she'd find me - and she did!”
She added: “We had our first walk in harness this morning. Tami has recovered perfectly and it's like no time has passed between us at all!
“Working with her is such a dream and she makes being blind so much easier. I have my freedom and my smile when she is with me.
“I could not be prouder of her and I have never felt so happy.”
Not wasting anytime, Tami has already started retraining – although, Kimberley says she’s got “absolutely nothing” to retrain for.
“My guide dog mobility instructor is just as impressed and as proud as I am with how much Tami remembers of the routes we do and of all of her etiquette. She is astonishing,” she said.
“Tami’s been my guide dog for six years and we even won the award for Lifechanging Partnership in 2017 at the Guide Dog Awards in London for how much she's impacted my life.”
Having missed both their birthdays together, Christmas and New Year Tami and Kimberley have a lot of lost time to make up for.
Kimberley shared her elation at being reunited with Tami in a candid post on Facebook group Leedsplace, said: “[Now I’m] looking forward to spending more time outside as I've been shielding and so isolated for the past seven months without Tami.
“I'm looking forward to visiting my university campus now that it's open, I'm fully vaccinated with both doses, and now that I have Tami back!
“I'm in my final year of my art degree and can't wait to exhibit the paintings I've been working on while I've been at my lowest points.”
You can check out Kimberley’s paintings on Instagram here.
