A PUPPY training with Guide Dogs for the Blind visited staff at a Basingstoke office after they chose to support the charity.

Jay-Cee was welcomed to Unum, in Basing View, along with his volunteer puppy trainer Aimie Edwards.

The nine-month-old Labrador is being trained to become a guide dog and will spend 12 to 14 months with Aimie before going for intensive training for six to eight months.

Leanne Ledger, national corporate partnership officer for Guide Dogs for the Blind, chatted to staff at Unum about the charity and Jay-Cee, who will eventually be matched with a blind person.

She said: “In exactly the same way as every person is an individual so is the guide dog and they put thought into that when matching them.

"They introduce it to someone they think it will be suited to and once they think it’s a good match they have a week of intensive training to get to know each other and form a bond."

Unum has selected Guide Dogs for the Blind, based in Burghfield Common, to support this year through its fundraising.

Miss Ledger added: “It’s fantastic that Unum has decided to support us. The fundraising especially is great - the more money we can raise the more lives we can change. But it’s also raising awareness. They are asking questions about puppy walking and boarding and ways to get involved long after this partnership has ended.”