Pointing to the pictures of the wall, Yve Strawson told me that 10-month-old Amber was her and her husband’s 14th guide dog that they’ve looked after.

“Her mother is called Alison and her dad is called Boris,” she said. “She’s an alsatian and labrador cross. Amber is number 14 (of the guide dogs) and we have a wall of fame with all the other dogs pictured.”

Mrs Strawson and her husband Ben have been fostering guide dog puppies since they retired, and had their first puppy brought to them in 2005.

“We’ve had a variety of dogs,” Mrs Strawson explains. “We’ve had pure labradors and the main dog is the labrador retriever as the majority of guide dogs are the labrador cross retriever.

“We’ve had shepherd cross retrievers and pure German shepherds. We’ve also had a labradoodle. They’ve been introduced because they don’t shed their hair as much. They’re good for people with asthma or those who have allergy to pet hair, and also for people who don’t like hoovering!”

Mrs Strawson shows me the pictures of the past 13 dogs on the wall who she and Ben have fostered, and said looking at them feels proud, almost like a parent who sees their child graduating at university.

However, she also said it is hard to see the dogs go, as it’s easy for her and Ben to get attached to them but they do get to see them again.

Mrs Strawson said: “It makes me very proud (to look back at the photos) and very pleased that I’ve managed to help so many people obtain mobility and companionship from their dogs. We’re very fortunate because the majority of guided owners get in touch with you.

“We’re very lucky they get in touch with us, we develop friendships to different degrees but quite often we speak on the phone. In April we’re also going to visit one in the Isle of Wight, we’re going on holiday purely by chance but we’re meeting up with the owner.

“When they go, it’s an emotional day. You build up a bond, but you think forward. When they leave you you feel so proud and you realise at that moment what that dog can do,” she said.

The role of a puppy walker is quite varied, but the main information is in the name. The owners regularly walk and exercise the dog when they receive them at the age of six or seven-weeks-old, toilet train them and teach them good behaviour in family settings. The dog then leaves the family when they are 14-months-old to go to a guide dog trainer.

People can get involved in being a puppy walker by getting in touch with Guide Dogs Cymru. The service helps to support families that want to become walkers, and vet costs and food are paid for by the service.

Mrs Strawson said she first became interested in becoming a walker when she was still working in an office in St Mellons.

“I was coming up to retirement and you always think what you’re going to do with your life. Where I worked was very close to where the Guide Dog training centre was in Cardiff. I used to like walking, we always had dogs but didn’t have one at the time. I used to walk in my lunch hour and I used to see the trainers walking these dogs and I thought ‘ooh I’ve seen her before with that dog?’ and we’d nod then I’d ask ‘how’s that one doing’? Then it dawned on me that I could look into something like that.”

Mrs Strawson went on the internet to research more into guide dogs, and said Guide Dog Cymru has been very helpful in helping her and her husband become walkers.

She said: “We get lots of support from Guide Dogs Cymru, particularly in the beginning when you’re raw and sad about your puppy leaving.

“You have a supervisor that sees you regularly and meet other puppy walkers too. You can talk between yourselves and sort of find out about the different dogs.”

Now that she and her husband are retired, Mrs Strawson, said having guide dogs helps give them something to focus on and something to do.

“It’s a reason to get up in the morning, you have to if you’ve got a dog. It gives you a reason to go out, a reason to meet people and there’s all these things we missed when we were working,” she said. “You keep healthy as well. You meet a lot of people and you have a social life too.”

Mrs Strawson believes being social is one of the best things for the puppy as it gets them used to scenarios where they will be out and about.

She regularly takes Amber out to different places, on public transport, busy towns and other areas to get her used to places she could be in the future.

“We start to introduce them to day-to-day living that everyone experiences. We will take them on buses, trains, we’ll take them shopping with us and the dog comes with me when I have my hair cut,” she said.

“Everywhere that we go we try to take them. You sometimes have to ask permission but the vast majority of places do let you know as they realise the dog has to experience this so they’re able to do it in the future.”

At the moment, Mrs Strawson’s husband Ben is the main person who takes Amber out for her walks and said although she’s nearly a year old, she’s still learning every day.

“Because of her breed she is very focused but then again she’s always focussing on different things,” he said.

“We take her round the neighbourhood and everyone knows who she is. We have some little boys around here who like to see her. One of them was scared of dogs until he met her.”

The Strawsons believe they will be puppy walkers until they are no longer able to because it’s something they both enjoy. Anyone who is interested in being a volunteer must be over 18 and can call Steve Kersley (the volunteer co-ordinator for Guide Dogs Cymru ) on 017785907728.or email steve.kersley@guidedogs.org.uk.