I’ve got my life back to where I was before…

Visually impaired from birth, Charlene permanently lost sight after the birth of her second child. Obelix’s arrival has allowed her to reconcile her professional life and her life as a mother, and to take more confident steps with her children.

When Charlene lost what little field of vision she had left, she quickly wondered how to readjust her life. “The occupational doctor sent me to an association in Lille to receive orientation and mobility training to facilitate my journeys. That’s where I was referred to guide dogs.” Having always had a pet dog at home, she immediately fancied this solution as she no longer felt safe with her cane.  Charlene had imagined her ideal guide dog as  a quite independent small German Shepherd, but it was a completely different profile that was offered to her – a 33 kg Labrador, sticking like glue, according to her. “I must admit that the choice of Association des Chiens guides des Centres Paul Corteville was excellent. After a few weeks at home, Obelix had totally adapted. »

Her children were happy to welcome this new playmate, very cuddly and protective. They quickly understood that life was going to be easier for them too. “When I’m on a journey, I don’t have to concentrate as I used to with a cane and I can chat with them!” Accustomed to not going too far so that their mother could hear them, they now benefit from more freedom to their greatest happiness. Charlene can now pick them up from school on her own and take them to their sports activities. “They’re so proud to have a mom who has the right to bring a dog, because he’s exceptional.”

But the changes made possible by Obelix do not end there. When the lockdown was over, the company where Charlene works offered her a position adapted to her blindness. Obelix quickly became the new mascot to her colleagues. “They had seen my distress when I lost my sight: I couldn’t manage anymore, they came to pick me up in the morning… Now I come on my own and it normalizes relationships.” She has also rediscovered the pleasure of spontaneity and autonomy. “I can make a phone call while walking, I can go to the baker’s without having to anticipate, now journeys rhyme with pleasure and not stress! I am back to my old life.  A guide dog certainly involves some constraints, but according to her, this is nothing compared to the safety that Obelix brings every day. “I wouldn’t imagine myself without him!”