Owner Required: A blind border collie called Clyde who comes with his own guide dog (called Bonnie)

[Marilyn. 340]

Bonnie and Clyde do everything together, from walking and wagging to bounding and burying.

But Clyde is always just one faltering step behind.

That's because he is blind - and his fellow border collie Bonnie acts as his guide dog.

She leads him to food or water, and lets him rest his head on her haunches when he feels a bit lost.

They are inseparable, and if Bonnie isn't nearby Clyde refuses to move a paw.

The pair were rescued as strays three weeks ago and are looking for a new home together.

Cherie Cootes, 40, at the Meadow Green Dog Rescue Centre in Loddon, Norfolk, said: 'Clyde relies on Bonnie the whole time. When she walks she tends to stop and make sure he's there - she does look out for him. They really are the most lovely pair of dogs.

'There's absolutely no option of homing them separately, they have to go as a pair.' Bonnie, two, and Clyde, five, were rescued after being abandoned on a street in the middle of a storm three weeks ago. No one has claimed them.

Miss Cootes said they would make ideal pets in a home with a large, secure garden away from busy roads.

Waveney District Council placed the dogs, who have no identifying collars or chips, with the rescue centre but no owners have come forward to claim them.

Ms Cootes described the dogs as 'typical high-spirited collies' and said they would make ideal pets in a home with a large, secure garden away from busy roads.

Long-haired border collie Clyde has a friendly face while short-haired Bonnie is much smaller.

'They've got very nice manners and they walk well on the lead. They really are a very sweet pair of dogs,' Ms Cootes said.

'Clyde's going to have to have a more rural type of home purely because of traffic. It would be fantastic if someone had a large garden so he can have his exercise.'

Sue Cootes, 59, who runs the rescue centre with her daughter Cherie, said it was incredible to see how Bonnie took care of Clyde.

'She's a little darling and he just follows her everywhere,' she said.

'It's just instinctive with them to help each other and it's marvellous to see animals doing this together.

'We get them outside and on walks as much as possible because Clyde may be blind but Bonnie certainly isn't. We have large paddocks and they potter around together out there.'

The Cootes family took over the rescue centre five years ago and now look after 45 abandoned dogs.

Vicky Bell, a spokeswoman for Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, said she had never heard of a dog voluntarily acting as a guide dog for another dog.

'This is a very unusual case - it's such a lovely story,' she said.

'Some dogs take to guiding better than others because they naturally have the right temperament.

'It very much depends on the individual dog.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12...-guide-dog.html

[Marilyn. 340]

I really shouldn't post so late ..lol the title should say "Owner required: A blind border collie called Clyde who comes with his own guide dog (called Bonnie)"

[Marilyn. 340]

A new home has been found for a blind border collie and his very own guide dog which were both found on a country road in Suffolk.

The dogs, who have been named Bonnie and Clyde, were taken to Meadowgreen Dog Rescue Centre, near Loddon, Norfolk, and could not be separated.

The rescue centre began a search for a home for the two dogs and a new owner has now been found.

More than 500 people came forward to offer a home for the pair.

It is thought Clyde lost his sight because of a degenerative disease.

Cherie Cootes, from the rescue centre, said: "If Clyde's unsure where he is, he will suddenly go behind Bonnie and put his face on the back of her so she can guide him, he totally relies on her.

"And when she walks she tends to stop and make sure he's there - she does look out for him.

"When she's about you wouldn't notice he is blind, but when she's not about he refuses to move."

The dogs were found running through Blundeston, near Lowestoft in Suffolk, during a storm three weeks ago.

Neither Clyde, who is thought by the rescue centre workers to be about five years old, nor Bonnie, whose estimated age is two or three, had identifying collars or chips.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/8176619.stm