This summer, you may have spotted some of our team spending their warm and sunny weekends at the fetes that were held across our local area. On our stalls we had lots of goodies up for grabs as part of our raffles to help us raise money for Canine Partners – an amazing charity that pairs specially trained assistance dogs with people who have physical disabilities.
Thanks to a brilliant team effort and the generosity of all of you, our wonderful local friends, we were able to raise over £286! We recently welcomed Lynda Mellor from the charity to Crookham Park, to collect the money that had been raised.
We’d like to say a huge thank you to all staff who helped prepare for the fetes beforehand and helped out on the big days. We couldn’t have done it without you!
Canine Partners rely solely on donations to help continue their incredible work. We first learned of the charity when our Hartley Wintney clinic met Canine Partner, Tia. As a working dog, the charity take special care in ensuring that Tia had regular health checks, including a full ‘MOT’ a couple of times a year (which she passed with flying colours every time!).
Tia enabled her ‘partner’ to lead an independent life, helping with many tasks around the home and travelling far and wide – including studying for a Masters Degree at Exeter University before heading to Scotland. This miraculous transformation from house bound to independence is only possible with Tia’s gentle care and assistance.
More recently, we’ve had the pleasure of seeing the lovely Hartley grow up. He’s a Labrador X Golden Retriever cross, born in September 2021, and will soon complete his first year of training with a volunteer Puppy Parent under the guidance of a Puppy Instructor from the charity.
Each partnership costs £30,000 from selection as a puppy, right through to the dog’s retirement. When Hartley passes his specialist training around September 2023, he’ll be partnered with one of the many people waiting for a working assistance dog.
All your kind donations are supporting Hartley on his journey!
If you’d like to find our more about the charity, visit https://caninepartners.org.uk/.
