Guide dog has helped give local man his independence back

A PARTIALLY-BLIND man has said he ‘cannot describe how it feels’ to have finally returned the favour to the charity that last year helped him regain his independence.

Sean Harpur, a central figure within Friends of the Glens, recently presented a cheque of £2,500 to representatives from Guide Dogs Northern Ireland.

In the Mellon Country Inn Hotel, surrounded by friends, family and fellow fundraisers, Sean happily handed over the money which he and around 250 other hill-climbing altruists raised by walking up Bessy Bell on New Year’s Day.

Speaking with the UH, Sean explained how it was the turnaround his life underwent after receiving his guide dog Benny, that made him so keen to give back to the charity who brought them together.

“Since receiving Benny last year, my life has drastically improved,” began the outdoorsman.

“I suffer from a hereditary condition called retinitis pigmentosa, which through my life has slowly degraded my sight.

“In 1998 I had to forfeit my licence, about ten years ago it started becoming hard to get around places I did not know well.

“At some stage after that, I stopped going into Omagh. Even walking really slowly, I was always stepping in front of people and banging into posts. Basically, that was when I really started to lose my independence,” said Sean.

However, a couple of years ago, Sean made the carefully considered decision to apply to get a guide dog.

“My grandfather had four dogs but I was never sure whether it would be for me. I thought about it for a long time before eventually deciding it might do me good.”

After taking obligatory long stick training, Sean was assessed and it was decided that his severity of his condition, combined with his particular circumstances, made him an ideal candidate for a dog.

“A lot of people think you need to be totally blind to get a guide dog, but that is not true. Since I got Benny last year, I cannot explain how much my life has changed. Seriously, it is night and day.”

relocated

Since being united with Benny, Sean relocated from Gortnagarn into the town.

“I can head down Market Street now and not bump into a single person. Benny lets me know if there is somebody coming, if it is safe to cross, and a thousand other things. The level of training has to be seen to be believed.

“He is beside me, helping me understand what is going on, every step of the way. Then, if I fancy going in somewhere for a cup of coffee or want to get the bus somewhere, Benny just chills at my feet. I love him.”

It is not hard to get your head around why giving back to Guide Dogs Northern Ireland has meant so much to Sean.

“Because we reached the £2,500 benchmarks, they have allowed us (Friends of the Glens) to name a dog, so we have called her Bessy.

“Hopefully, after her two years of training is complete, she can go on to improve somebody else’s life the same way that Benny has bettered mine.”