Residents of a sheltered housing complex in Trethomas have given a guide dog puppy a bright start in life – by naming it Gem.
Young at Heart and Friends, based at Grove Estate, chose the puppy’s name after raising £2,740 for Guide Dogs Cymru in just 12 months.
The group reached its target by holding weekly coffee mornings, raffles and card sales, boosted by donations from friends.
Spokeswoman Megan Matthews said: “We support a different charity every year by putting our names in a hat and drawing a winner.
“We try to choose a charity that’s local, and I had recently read in a newspaper article that more guide dog puppies are now being trained in Wales instead of having to go over the border.
“It must be frightening enough to need a guide dog, let alone have to go somewhere unfamiliar to train, so when my name was pulled out of the hat I opted for Guide Dogs Cymru.”
The group then had to choose a name.
“People suggested Megan or Meg, but I didn’t want to be pushy,” said Mrs Matthews.
“Then someone came up with the idea of Gem, which was Meg in reverse.”