Canine Partners

Sirus Adopt Canine Partner

We support the work of the Canine Partners by adopting a Puppy.

Below we will share with you the progress of our adopted puppy ‘Amelia’.

To find out more about this charity please visit www.caninepartners.org.uk or call 01730 716 026.

Dear Friend,

It’s time for your first update from me, your adopted canine partner puppy.

My adventures began when I went to live with my puppy parents, a very nice lady called Jill. She has had lots of canine partner puppies before me so I have rather a lot to live up to. She also has a very large version of me who lives with her called Saffy. Saffy is a demonstration dog for Canine Partners, which means she and Jill visit all sorts of different places to show people how a fully trained canine partner can help a person with disabilities. I think Jill is hoping that Saffy will be my mentor!

Almost as soon as I got home with Jill, I started puppy classes and met lots of other new recruits hoping to be assistance dogs of the future. I must admit I thought I was there just to play with all the other puppies, but straight away I was having to use my brain and learn things. Actually they are good fun and it feels like play. One of the games we play is hide and seek and this is to teach us that it is a good idea for us to keep our handlers in sight at all times. It is important that I keep paying attention to Jill, as that will be vital when I am partnered with someone in a wheelchair who might need me at any time. So when Jill and I are in the garden at home playing, she is very sneaky and puts some treats or a toy somewhere in the garden and while I am focused on that she slips away and hides. I don’t like it when she is not there so I always rush to find her…and I am very good at it! Jill says she wishes she hadn’t got quite such a cute puppy as me as it makes things very difficult when we are out walking into town and other busy places. I need to visit noisy environments so that I am able to cope with all of that when I am partnered, but we never get very far before someone stops us to say how gorgeous I am! Poor Jill has to explain that we mustn’t be distracted when we are working as it ruins all the training!

Quite soon after I arrived with Jill, I had a very exciting experience. Very close to where we live there is a person who has very severe disabilities and uses an electric wheelchair. He is on the waiting list for a canine partner, so it was felt it might be useful if I visited him regularly as part of my puppy training. The first time I met john I had to cope with a very big electric wheelchair, and Jill thought it might scare me, but she was wrong! I took it all in my stride, and I surprised everyone when john dropped his mobile phone by mistake and I trotted over and picked it up without being asked! How impressive is that?!

The first things we youngsters learn are to sit, to stand, to lie down, to work on and off lead (without running away) and my personal favourite – to roll over! That one I am happy to do over and over again! You might wonder why we are taught to do that: it is because when I am partnered with someone who has limited mobility it will allow them to check my feet and pads easily. In fact, Jill says I am very good at all these tasks – I think it is the poodle bit of me that makes me so intelligent! Bright and beautiful, what more could one ask? I Hope you enjoy reading about my progress.

Thank you for supporting me – you are making a difference to the life of a person with disabilities by helping me through my training.

More news from Amelia

Time for another update from me, your Canine Partner puppy. I have been busy learning more commands. It’s been like school really, and when i go to puppy classes i get to see all my doggy friends who are also training to be a Canine Partner. Although we have to work hard, showing how well we can walk nicely to heel, and demonstrating how we can carry out the core tasks of tugging, touching and retrieving, we also have fun and get some playtime too.

Very exciting news, i am coming towards the end of my early stage training, and will soon be leaving Jill to go back to the training centre where i will embark on the next stage of my journey to be fully qualified. To keep upto date with my development just visit this site each month.

Thanks again, Amelia