Canine Partners

On Thursday 30 November 2017, Her Majesty the Queen visited our Southern Training Centre to meet staff, trustees, volunteers and a few of our partnerships. Here at Canine Partners, we cannot believe it’s been a year already!

Lots of preparation went into the day to make sure the Queen’s visit was as enjoyable and informative as possible. She had the chance to meet our dogs at all stages of training – including then 12-week-old puppy in training Flint, our team of advanced trainers and our dog welfare team.

Her Majesty had the chance to see firsthand what tasks our dogs can do – she was very impressed by the dogs’ ability to unload the washing machine and pick up dropped items, asking questions throughout and commenting on their impressive skills.

She also met with two of our partners who were doing their on-site training with their dogs.

Jonathan, with canine partner Georgia

“My trainer Stephen and I watched through the chalet window as The Queen arrived before she came in to meet us in private.

Georgia, being Georgia, was cheeky and took one look at The Queen’s handbag before creeping across and putting her nose on it – breaking protocol completely!

We talked about what Canine Partners do as a charity and about the tasks Georgia has been trained to do for me.

It was really nice because I got to see a side of The Queen that not many people get to see, she was very relaxed and it was just like speaking to another dog lover.”

Pauline, with canine partner Lottie

“The Queen is a lovely lady and immediately puts you at ease. It was indeed an honour to meet her.

The Queen asked me about Lottie and what sorts of tasks she could do and was interested to hear that Lottie was a successor dog and that I had canine partner Floyd before.

The Queen put her gloved hand out for Lottie to sniff. Lottie licked The Queen’s glove, prompting The Queen to say

“Oh, she is quite a licky dog”. I said “Yes ma’am” as there is not much else I could say as this is one of Lottie’s traits: Lick first, ask questions later!

Lottie helps me tremendously. She is a constant source of energy and is always willing to give a task a go, even if she is not sure exactly what she is supposed to be doing.”

During her visit, Her Majesty was also presented with gifts from Canine Partners and demonstration dog, Yarna, also handed over a posy of purple flowers.

You can read more about the Queen’s visit on our original blog post from the day.