Sonya Woodrow received her guide dog Vesna from Blind Low Vision New Zealand about a year and a-half ago after a two-year wait.
She said before she had Vesna she relied on her daughter to do most things.
"I was kind of stuck because there wasn't much I could do on my own.
"After I got Vesna, I didn’t have to wait for my daughter to get home from school to go places — I can go by myself."
"Your whole world is tipped upside down and you feel very isolated and it’s very dangerous going outside when you’ve lost your eyesight.
"You fall over a lot and bump into things and you tend to isolate yourself from everybody."
She said having Vesna made her feel safe and it was a relief for her daughter to not have to support her all the time.
Her daughter Naima, 17, had inherited her condition, cone-rod dystrophy and was also losing her vision.
However, Ms Woodrow said it was easier for Naima because she could see that her mother was all right with the support of a guide dog.
"She’ll know she doesn’t have to give up her life when she loses her sight."
Ms Woodrow was sharing her story in the hope people would donate generously during Blind Low Vision Guide Dog Puppy Appeal Weekend.
As part of the appeal, volunteers would be collecting donations to fundraise money for training guide dogs on March 22 and 23.
Donations could also be made online at blindlowvision.org.nz.
Blind Low Vision chief executive Andrea Midgen said it took 552 days to train a guide dog and there were 27 people on the waiting list for one.
She said the appeal week was essential to reducing the number of people on the list.
It cost about $175,000 to raise, train and maintain one guide dog in service.
There are 129 dogs in training and 144 active guide dog teams across the country.
