Mayor marks International Assistance Dog Week
It’s International Assistance Dog Week – and the Mayor of Dudley met a fellow councillor who has been breeding guide dogs for more than 25 years.
Councillor Tony Creed is a long-term volunteer for Guide Dogs UK, one of the Mayor’s chosen charities for his year in office.
Councillor Pete Lee, the borough’s first citizen for 2025/26, invited his colleague to the parlour and also met his two dogs Lizzie and Sadie.
Councillor Creed and his wife Margaret have been looking after breeding dogs for more than a quarter of a century at their home in Norton, Stourbridge.
They rear puppies for around six to seven weeks before they move on to be trained in Leamington Spa.
International Assistance Dog Week runs until Saturday (Aug 9) and is intended to celebrate the dedication and hard work of assistance dogs all over the world, as well as their trainers.
Councillor Pete Lee, the Mayor of Dudley, said:
“As Guide Dogs UK are one of my charities this year, I wanted to invite Tony to the parlour to thank him for all the excellent work he has done over the years breeding and looking after these wonderful animals.
“When you see what these dogs do for blind people – and even deaf people, which I have only recently found out about – it takes your breath away.
“They can literally be lifesavers, and there is no better time to formally recognise that than during International Assistance Dog Week.”