Gordon Foden nearly lost the chance of getting the dog when he missed days of special training to be with his family after his brother died suddenly last month.
But with the support of Geraldine Smith MP and Guide Dogs for the Blind, the grandfather of three is now the proud owner of Lily, a two-year-old yellow labrador.
"Without Geraldine's intervention I think I would probably still be waiting for my guide dog," said Gordon, 44.
"I want to say thank you to her and all those people who've stood by me instead of turning their back on me."
Geraldine wrote to Guide Dogs for the Blind earlier this year on behalf of Gordon, asking for him to be considered for a guide dog.
Then in November, he was delighted to hear that the charity had agreed to pay him a visit with Lily, to see if they would bond and be a suitable 'match' for each other.
Training
When Gordon and Lily met for the first time, they got on famously. Arrangements were made for him to go away to Clitheroe on December 4 for further guide dog training with his new friend.
But the day before he was due to travel to Clitheroe, he received a phone call which left him "absolutely devastated".
"I'd just come out of hospital after having an operation on my spine when I found out that my brother Mark had died suddenly in Blackpool. I just totally lost my head. I didn't believe it."
Gordon, who is almost completely blind, immediately got a taxi to Blackpool, where most of his family, including his two daughters, live.
"I was, about to start my guide dog training and go to Clitheroe, but I needed to be with my family.
"When I got there I discussed things with both my daughters and they said: 'Dad, there's nothing more you can do here, it's not worth you losing your guide dog'."
So, his head spinning, Gordon got another taxi back to Morecambe, packed some things and made the trip to Clitheroe after all.
"I was really struggling to come to terms with what had happened but I needed my guide dog."
He spent the next four days working with Lily but he admits his head was all over the place: "What was being said to me was going in one ear and out of the other.
"I was constantly in touch with my family trying to sort out funeral arrangements. I had health problems too, my knees basically collapsed and I spent all of the Friday in bed."
On the Saturday Gordon couldn't cope any more. With crucial days of training still remaining, he decided to phone his youngest daughter Donna and asked her and his son-in-law to pick him up.
"I was sad to leave Lily behind and it was remarked that I might lose my dog, but I needed to be with my family."
Gordon went back to Blackpool and stayed until his brother's funeral on the Tuesday.
"It was a very, very hard day."
The day before the funeral, Gordon called up Richard Woodcraft, district team manager for Guide Dogs for the Blind in Lancashire, Cumbria and the Isle of Man. "I begged him: 'Please don't take this dog from me, I can't help what's happened in my personal life.'"
But after the funeral, when Gordon returned to Morecambe, he still thought there was a chance he may not be reunited with Lily.
"But when I got home, true to his word, Richard and Lily were there.
"It was the best thing that could have happened to me. I'm now finishing my training here in Morecambe and I've been told I'm going to get my licence.
Thanks
"I've worked so hard for this. It's difficult to explain to people how one minute you can have blurred vision and the next, no vision at all."
Gordon thanked Richard, his friends who have stuck by him, (including who he calls "my best friend, she knows who she is"), staff at the Lord Nelson and King's Arms pubs, Coastal Taxis and Geraldine.
"She is a caring person and she understood and contacted Guide Dogs for the Blind to explain my situation.
"For that I will be eternally grateful."
* GUIDE Dogs for the Blind is a registered charity. If you would like to help them by making a donation, please contact The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, Burghfield Common, Reading RG7 3YG; (phone 0118 983 5555).