OTLEY now has its very own budding Guide Dog puppy – and very cute he is, too.

Pictured here, Otley the dog is a Golden Labrador/Retriever cross, who was born on September 25 this year.

He travelled up to Yorkshire from Leamington Spa last week, and will spend the next year with a puppy walker before a decision is made about whether he is suitable for full Guide Dog training.

Funds for the puppy, and his future training, were raised by Otley-based Guide Dogs supporter, Pat Brown, earlier this year.

Pat braved temperatures as low as -26°C when she undertook a 220-kilometre dog-sledding challenge, aged 60, in the Arctic Circle in February.

Her fundraising brought in £5,973, smashing her £5,000 target, and she hopes Otley will enjoy a special bond with the town he has been named after.

Pat said: "He will be with his puppy walker for the next ten to 12 months and, during that time, I will hopefully get several reports on his progress, and get to meet him and his walker.

"I have arranged with the Otley Town Council offices in Orchard Gate to display any updates in one of their windows, so if anyone wants to find out how he is doing, that is the place to go.

"With his puppy walker, Otley will be fully socialised by going into cafes, shops and so on, as well as travelling on buses, trains and, of course, cars.

"He will hopefully then go on to do his basic training at one of the four Guide Dog centres in the UK. There, he will learn how to work in harness with his blind or partially-sighted handler."

While in basic training, Otley will be matched with someone who is waiting for a Guide Dog. If he gets through that successfully, he will be sent to the Guide Dog regional centre nearest his potential new handler.

Pat added: "With Otley being a Labrador/Retriever cross, it gives him a very good chance of making the grade, as that particular cross generally has a pass rate of more than 80 per cent.

"As long as the initial introduction goes well, he will then learn up to four routes that his new handler requires, which takes another three to four months, and then he gets to meet his blind handler again and they will train together for three weeks.

"Generally, the dog is between 18 to 24 months by the time they are working, and the total cost of a Guide Dog is £50,000 as the Guide Dog Association covers all of its costs for the whole of its working life."