When Jaina Mistry was young she had a very scary encounter with a dog that she thought had given her a lifelong phobia. Her family felt much the same. But years later her freedom would be curtailed in the most basic way as even going out to a café or to the gym became fraught with danger. To help her through this she was encouraged to put all her faith in a dog called Laura.

Jaina is believed to be England’s first blind female fitness instructor and told Jane Garvey about the transformative impact Laura has had on her life.

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Image: Jaina Mistry & Laura the dog

Twitter: @mistryjaina1