The well-behaved young dogs came to one of last year’s performances of the pantomime Peter Pan and it proved to be an ideal experience for them.
The theatre’s Creative Learning Manager, Bethan Minter, said: “These well-behaved puppies saw the flashing lights, loud bangs and magical special effects – it was perfect material for helping them become fully trained guide dogs.
“Then they got to chill out with the panto cast after the show. The theatre and cast loved having them in and we hope to see them again next year.”
Janice McCauley, Social Events Co-ordinator for Guide Dogs for the Blind Medway, said: “We are very appreciative of the team at the Assembly Hall for supporting our work each year – it has become a tradition.
“The panto is excellent grounding for training with all the special effects, lights, music, fireworks, confetti and the noise of the children.
“It really offers so many experiences, and the pups were all a credit to us.”
She added: “One trainee pup was very interested in Nana the dog and couldn’t quite make out if it was real or not and barked when it first came on the stage.
“You can imagine when we went on stage and the actor took her dog head off – that confused a few pups!”
