training guide dogs does not require great physical strength -- and Beverley Walsh is proof of that.

This bubbly mum helps to train puppies to become the eyes of their blind owners and believes muscle-power does not come into it, bearing in mind that Beverley stands a petite 5ft tall.

She says: "It is more a case of knowing how to handle dogs and their individual ways."

Beverley, who lives in Heaton, has developed a wonderful rapport with the dogs in the 32 years she has been a popular member of the team at the Lowndes Street centre.

Her career started when, as a 15-year-old, she worked on a voluntary basis, cleaning out the kennels and grooming the dogs.

The job became full-time and after two years she moved on to the training side of things.

Now Beverley, aged 47, is a senior guide dog trainer. You may have seen her walking round Bolton town centre carefully watching members of staff putting the dogs, mostly Labradors, through their paces. "It's a great job in the summer, when the weather is nice, but not so good in the wind and rain," she says.

Training a guide dog is a big responsibility. After all, each fully-trained dog will provide a vital service to his or her owner.

Not every dog starting the training will finish it. Those that do will be invaluable to their owners and must learn skills a "normal" family pet does not need to possess.

These skills include knowing when to cross the road and not to be distracted by other dogs.

Beverley gets a huge buzz out of watching what is thought to be a difficult dog become successful. "There might be some doubt about the dog qualifying but sometimes I just get a gut feeling that it will and, when it does, I am always really pleased."

Perhaps surprisingly, Beverley does not have a pet dog at the home she shares with husband Billy, aged 43, and 14-year-old son Thomas.

"It would go against all my principles to get a dog because I don't think it's a good idea to have pets when you're working full time."

Having said that, Beverley does take in trained guide dogs from time to time for short periods while their owners go on holiday.

There are guide dogs all over the headquarters. Dog baskets in every office show how the dogs are a vital part of every employee's life.

"We like to bring them into the offices. It is good for them," Beverley says.

Just to prove a point, one of the trainee guide dogs jumps up at the reception counter to take a look at what is going on. He is soon reprimanded for jumping -- not really suitable behaviour for a soon-to-be guide dog, I guess.

Labradors are the most popular choice for guide dogs. There are also Labrador/retriever crosses and the occasional German Shepherd. Beverley is devoted to what she does and gets immense satisfaction in seeing a trainee develop into a fully-fledged guide dog.

She does have some spare time but that is usually spent running Thomas to football and his other sports activities.

Despite her busy job, Beverley tries to ensure that family life does not suffer. "It isn't always easy but I do my best."

But work is an important part of her life and she could not see herself doing anything else.

There have been many rewarding moments in the three decades that she has been involved with guide dogs but her most memorable time was when she helped to team up a deaf, dumb and blind man with his new guide dog.

She had to learn how to communicate with her hands -- "It was one of the highlights of my career."