Canine Partners

It started with Tuesday last week, which saw me make the journey from Sussex up to Herefordshire and back, to meet with Clive, one of our most loyal and generous supporters, and his wife Sylvia. Anne (who oversees our fundraising side of things) was keen to be introduced to Clive and Sylvia, to put in place further plans for raising the remaining funds that are required to finish off the second building at our brand new Midlands Centre. Very exciting.

Which then led on to Thursday, when I was back up the road to the Midlands in order to see how the builders were progressing at our new Leicestershire site, having sorted out a few bits and bobs back at the Sussex ranch in between times. The contractors are working hard, and preparing the way for what will become our brand new wheelchair-accessible accommodation, which means we will be able to offer disabled people in the Midlands the same facilities as are currently available at our Southern Centre. Our aim is to have this completed by the Summer, with your help.

Next stop was then Coutts in London, where England rugby star Chris Robshaw was launching his testimonial year, courtesy of Harlequins rugby club, during which he will be raising funds for Canine Partners. We were delighted that Andy Fields was able to join us, together with his canine partner Emily. Andy played rugby for England under 18s, under 19s, under 20s and under 21s before having a motorbike accident in which he broke his back, and now uses a wheelchair. Emily has been by his side assisting him for the past eight years. It was great to see Andy rubbing shoulders with the likes of Chris Robshaw and other names from the world of international rugby including Danny Care, Jamie Roberts and Ugo Monye.

Accompanying Andy to and from Waterloo station gave a real insight into the physical barriers that get in the way of people using wheelchairs – the lift on the north side of Waterloo Bridge was out of order, leaving Andy stranded. Being resourceful and determined, he staggered down the stairs using the handrail and a stick, with Emily by his side, and relied on others to carry his electric wheelchair down. And then when we made the long detour to Jubilee Bridge on the way back after the event, in temperatures of minus 5 degrees, a homeless person had taken up residence in the only working lift, making it nearly impossible to manoeuvre Andy’s wheelchair inside, with Emily. Our partnerships face these sorts of issues every day.

It was then a quick turnaround, in order to catch the early flight to Scotland. (And ‘quick turnaround’ means about 3 hours in bed!). Our Scottish team are very important to the UKwide Canine Partners family, so it was brilliant to sit down with them all and talk through
our calendar of events in Scotland this year, which is going to be great. We also took the opportunity to touch base with Marjorie, a staunch member of our Paisley puppy-training satellite group, before flying back down that same evening.

There’s no peace for the wicked, so the next morning involved another early start as I took ‘newbie’ Anne up to Buckinghamshire to meet another key member of the Canine Partners team. Roger Jefcoate has been at the sharp end of Canine Partners from the very beginning – he even sponsored the very first partnership course in the Charity’s history, back in 1993, and has been an active vice patron of the Charity ever since, with wife Jean always by his side. This was an opportunity for Anne to pick Roger’s brains about his many and various contacts and ideas. As vice patron, Roger opens doors for us and it’s then up to us to follow through.

We eventually rolled back into Sussex late again, to the news that our first partnership courses of 2016 have successfully been completed, which means that another four disabled people have headed home with their specially trained canine partners by their sides. And we also learned the wonderful news that the Hampshire area of Wilko’s have decided to raise funds for Canine Partners later this year. Thank you to all Wilko’s staff – we are absolutely thrilled that you’re on board with us, as we sail into an exciting future, changing more people’s lives.
And a final nod to our friends at Purina – thank you for sending your film crew to visit us today, and meet our partners and their dogs. We value your help in raising awareness of our work, and we love working with you!

Onwards and upwards!