A loyal and faithful guide dog who was slowly losing his sight didn’t let his own blindness stop him from doing his duty.
The remarkable story is remembered in a heart warming image from the Daily Mirror archives, showing Abel carrying on his work.
The Golden Labrador and his owner Ken Williams would regularly be seen commuting from their home on the outskirts of Cardiff into the city centre in the mid-1970s. Team Dogs reports.
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But unbeknown to Ken, seven-year-old Abel was also losing his sight.
Sometimes Ken noticed that Abel seemed to be a bit late in avoiding other people on the pavement of their well-remembered route, but he never suspected the truth.
Every day, without fail, in rain or shine, Abel guided Ken safely from his home to work, a journey which involved crossing three side roads and a main road into a station where they caught a train.
Once Abel’s condition was discovered, the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association - now known as Guide Dogs - arranged a replacement - Gay, a two-year-old black Labrador.
But Ken wasn’t prepared to give up Abel entirely after his medical retirement, so while Gay took over the regular office commute, the trio would go for walks after work with Ken and Abel being led by Gay.
The Daily Mirror pictured Gay in her guide dog harness leading Ken and Abel across a street in 1974.
