{"id":431924,"date":"2026-10-19T11:14:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T11:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/431924\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T11:14:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T11:14:09","slug":"the-pet-ill-never-forget-orlando-was-paralysed-and-almost-died-then-became-the-perfect-guide-dog-dogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/431924\/","title":{"rendered":"The pet I\u2019ll never forget: Orlando was paralysed and almost died \u2013 then became the perfect guide dog | Dogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

When I first met Orlando, he was about eight weeks old. I\u2019m a puppy raiser for the charity Guide Dogs<\/a>; the puppies come to live with us in Swanley, Kent, until they are 12 to 18 months old. I started training him, but one day, I noticed he was shaking his head, which can mean there is something wrong with a dog\u2019s ears. We took him to the vet and, on the second visit, we were told to rush him straight to the Royal Veterinary hospital because he had tetanus.<\/p>\n

Dogs aren\u2019t vaccinated against tetanus because it is so rare, and I don\u2019t think I realised how unwell Orlando was. For the first week it was terrifying. He became completely paralysed and I was awake every night expecting a call to say that he had died. He was too sick to carry on training as a guide dog. He had to learn how to eat, walk and do almost everything again.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe pet I\u2019ll never forget: Orlando the guide dog recovers from tetanus<\/p>\n

When he came back to live with me, he couldn\u2019t go up the stairs. We had to put mats on the floor, because if he slid it would hurt him, and he could manage only short walks. He was very demanding \u2013 he had a unique high-pitched bark and he\u2019d tell you what he wanted. You could be sitting in a cafe and he\u2019d tell you: that\u2019s it, we\u2019ve had enough of sitting, it\u2019s time to go. He was also very cheeky. He\u2019d take my daughter\u2019s smelly socks and then give me a look as if to say, \u201cWhat? I didn\u2019t do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

People were always asking after him. He was very resilient and determined \u2013 you can\u2019t get much more inspiring than Orlando. He stayed with us until he was 17 months old, and then I gave him to his trainer from Guide Dogs. I felt very emotional, but also proud. It is like your child going off to university.<\/p>\n

Sarah Judd with Orlando after he qualified as a guide dog. Photograph: Guide Dogs<\/p>\n

In just under six months, Orlando qualified as a guide dog. His new owner, who is partially sighted, had been waiting years for one. I was in tears when I read her email saying how happy they were together. Without Orlando, she wouldn\u2019t be getting out and doing as much as she is now.<\/p>\n

We didn\u2019t know if he\u2019d survive, and to go from a puppy that a lot of people were expecting wouldn\u2019t pull through to a working guide dog that has changed someone\u2019s life is amazing. Knowing him has really changed the way I care for dogs. I am even more conscious of looking out for the little things, because if I hadn\u2019t seen them with Orlando, he wouldn\u2019t be here today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When I first met Orlando, he was about eight weeks old. I\u2019m a puppy raiser for the charity…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":431925,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-431924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431924","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=431924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/431924\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/431925"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=431924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=431924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=431924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}