Ilminster's Branston gives £10k sponsorship to guide dog

Five-month-old German Shepherd puppy, Tato, was sponsored by food manufacturer, Branston, who donated £10,000 to Guide Dogs' 'Name a Puppy' scheme.

This scheme funds a puppy through their training period in the hopes of becoming a future guide dog for someone with sight loss.

Branston, a potato business operating across the UK, supplied the donation earlier in the year.

Recently, Tato graced the Branston South West site in Ilminster to meet the staff members who supported her cause.

Showing off her advanced social skills, Tato interacted with the office staff, shedding light on the initial stages of her preparation for becoming a guide dog.

Tato is in training to become a guide dog (Image: Deborah Johnson)

Volunteer puppy raisers Dawn and Mark Armstrong, along with community fundraising relationship manager Krissie Isaac, accompanied Tato on this visit.

Ms Armstrong provided a heartening update on Tato’s progress, illustrating her as, "happy, inquisitive, and playful."

Jonathan Taylor, general manager of the Branston South West site, said: "It is great to be able to support such a worthwhile and much-needed charity and the Somerset team really enjoyed the opportunity to meet Tato herself, making our lunch hour a little bit livelier than usual."

Ms Isaac said: "We are incredibly grateful to Branston for their generous donation through our Name a Puppy scheme.

"Support from companies, such as this, allows Guide Dogs to continue to thrive as a charity and be able to fund our life-changing service for people living with sight loss."

Visit www.guidedogs.org.uk/how-you-can-help to learn more about the Guide Dogs scheme.