A right royal occasion

Canine Partners were honoured to receive an invitation for staff to attend HM King Charles’ Coronation Garden Party at Buckingham Palace on 9 May.

8,000 guests were welcomed to the garden in recognition of their public service and charity or community work. The Garden Party was hosted, on behalf of The King, by The Prince of Wales and was attended by several royals including our Patron, The Duke of Gloucester.

Staff who wanted to attend put their names in a hat and the four lucky attendees, Lucy, Anita, Sophie and Jenna, were selected at random by Demo Dog, Daisie.

Lucy said: “We got to enjoy the Buckingham Palace Gardens, eat lovely food (and ice-cream!), listen to the military bands and meet our patron, as well as amazing people from all walks of life and hear their stories of how they were invited. It was also lovely to meet colleagues I’d worked with but hadn’t met in person. Thank you so much – a truly wonderful memory to treasure.”

BBC Breakfast

We were thrilled to be invited onto BBC Breakfast, following the wonderful interview that partner Susan Holmes with canine partner Vinnie, gave to BBC Radio Cumbria and BBC Look North at the end of April.

Advanced Trainer Sophie and Demo Dog Fiona had a fantastic time talking about our urgent need for volunteers and demonstrating some of the amazing tasks that can be life-changing for a partner.

Sophie said: “It was a great experience to represent Canine Partners on BBC Breakfast and share more about the amazing work our charity does. Fiona was a natural in front of the camera and a real credit to us all – I’m very proud of her!”

A huge thank you to everyone who tuned in and shared the coverage!

Southern Training Centre farewell

We welcomed our community on-site at the end of April for a final opportunity to connect, reminisce and say farewell to our Southern Training Centre. It was wonderful to see so many faces and hear wonderful memories and stories. Thank you to everyone who was able to join us – we hope you enjoy these photos from the event.