AN urgent appeal has been launched to find surrogate dog minders in Buckinghamshire to raise the guide dogs of the future.

The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association is desperately short of volunteer puppy walkers needed to look after pups until they are a year old.

When they reach a year they begin their specialised guide dog training.

Richard Huggins, manager at Guide Dogs Redbridge Centre in Essex, said that blind people will suffer if minders cannot be found.

He said: "In Buckinghamshire we need more puppy walkers to ensure we have enough homes for the incoming pups.

"Puppy walking is challenging and it is a commitment but our volunteers find it extremely rewarding and worthwhile.

"At the end of the day if we don't have puppy walkers we do not have guide dogs.

"A young guide puppy is a companion for its temporary owners who find it so rewarding to raise a dog which will one day give a blind person a new independence by acting as their eyes."

Volunteers teach basic obedience and get the pup used to a home environment and the noise and bustle of towns.

Volunteers should have access to a car, a suitable garden and time on their hands to take the puppy out in different environments.

Equipment and feeding expenses will be provided.

Contact the association on 0118 9791911.