A mother and daughter duo are proudly continuing a 61-year family involvement with the Guide Dogs charity as representatives of its third and fourth generation to raise and train dogs for them. When Hilda Copson became a puppy walker for the charity in 1961 – just five years after the volunteer scheme was launched in 1956 – she sparked an enduring relationship that is still winning the hearts of her family members well over half a decade later.
Liz Eley, 53, a mother-of-two from Warwick, remembers her grandmother, Hilda, who started puppy walking soon after being widowed. She went on to breed guide dogs for nearly 20 years until her death in 1979 – having some adorable dogs in her house in Coventry.
Then her parents, engineer Andrew Copson, 79, and librarian Jan Copson, 77, now retired, fulfilled her wish by taking on her role after her passing. They made the family home in Peterborough the “most popular on the street” when she was growing up, according to Liz.
