PUPPY love was in the air last week as staff and customers at Webbs Garden Centre met the guide dog puppy they had helped to train.

The new puppy ‘Wooster’ popped into the Wychbold garden centre to meet the two competition winners who had named him, as part of a competition which raised more than £5,000 for the charity Guide Dogs, allowing them to name a puppy and sponsor it for the first year of its life.

The competition was the second time customers at the garden centre have sponsored a guide dog puppy and Joy Taylor from Redditch, and Mike Baker from Stoke Heath were the lucky customers who won the chance to name ‘Wooster’. . The winners and their families also won a free guided tour of the Guide Dogs national breeding centre in Leamington Spa and £50 worth of Webbs vouchers.

Mrs Taylor said: “I have loved dogs all my life. I am so happy that my win means that I was able to meet Wooster and also have a guided tour of the breeding centre. For me, the whole win is a dream come true.”

MrBaker, a retired housing officer, also has close links with Guide Dogs. He added: “We did have a lovely golden Labrador, but my daughter-in-law boards Guide Dogs for the charity, so this was my main incentive to enter as we try to support Guide Dogs whenever we can. I chose Wooster for several reasons. The previous dog was named Webster, so it was a continuation of the “er” ending and the capital W for Webbs. ‘Wooster’ is colloquial for Worcester and represents the people of Worcestershire who support Guide Dogs so strongly. Wooster is a lovely dog; bright and calm and really adorable.”

The puppy is currently being cared for by volunteer puppy walker Catherine Prindezis who plans to bring him for regular visits to the Wychbold store.

Webbs chairman Ed Webb said, “It was lovely for Joy and Mike to meet Wooster today, they struck up a bond straight away. He also won over the hearts of lots of our other customers. We will follow his progress with regular visits to Webbs when Wooster will be brought along by his local puppy walkers.”