Guide dog charity welcomes largest litter in years

The litter of 13 puppies is the charity's biggest in three years

A charity that breeds and trains guide dogs has welcomed its largest litter for three years - 13 puppies affectionately known as "the baker's dozen".

The 13 new additions to Guide Dogs HQ in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, have been given bakery-themed names, inspired by sweet and savoury treats.

The boys are Biscuit, Crumble, Bagel, Crumpet, Rye, Tiger and Pretzel, and the girls are Apple, Eccles, Cocoa, Chelsea, Custard and Ginger.

Janine Dixon, breeding and welfare operations lead at Guide Dogs said counting puppies during pregnancy was tricky so staff did not know mum Yori "had quite so many buns in the oven".

The cost of breeding, raising and training each guide dog can go up to £77,000, according to the charity, meaning the baker's dozen could cost just over £1m.

The charity said it hoped each pup would go on to offer independence to someone with sight loss

The base is home to the largest breeding programme for assistance dogs in the world

Leamington Spa has been a national base for the Guide Dogs charity since the 1940s and is now home to the largest breeding programme for assistance dogs in the world.

Katy Wild-O'Neil, Guide Dogs breeding advisor, said: "We breed 1,300 [dogs] a year so we obviously need lots of dedicated volunteers with that, and we do have some amazing volunteers who will continue to puppy-raise for us."

The 13 puppies will now be allocated to puppy raisers around the UK to help turn them into life-changing guide dogs by 2027.

The team said they did not know mum Yori "had quite so many buns in the oven"

Puppy raiser Morna Farquhar has helped raise 11 puppies in total for the charity.

She admitted it was "difficult" to give the dogs back after spending a year with them but said: "You do it because you know someone else can have a guide dog.

"So if you give one year of your time, someone can have eight years of a dog to guide them."

The litter is the biggest at Guide Dogs since 2022, when German shepherd Unity surprised the charity with a record-breaking 16 puppies.

Leamington Spa has been a national base for the Guide Dogs charity since the 1940s

The puppies will now be allocated to puppy raisers around the UK