Canine Partners

We hope you enjoy reading Charlotte’s story written from Rusty’s perspective on what it’s like to be a Canine Partners assistance dog in training.

Rusty’s adventures

By Charlotte Watson aged 10

Hi my name’s Rusty and I’m a chocolate Labrador in training with Canine Partners to eventually help transform a disabled person’s life.  I’ve got lots of difficult everyday human tasks to learn like emptying the washing machine, handing over money in shops, picking up dropped items and even using a bank cash card and collecting the money from an ATM.  These jobs are all very difficult and although I do enjoy doing them it helps when I’m given tasty treats!

I’m going to tell you about some of the adventures that I share with my friends, both dogs and humans, and my trainer Cat. When I first heard her name I ran around the room five times – but it turned out she was a person not a moggy!

Let me introduce you to my friends. There’s Brenda, the sensible golden retriever, Murphy the playful yellow Labrador, and my very best friend, Ike a fox red Labrador, the most mischievous of us all.  In my training I have to be really well behaved but it’s hard not to join in with Ike’s games sometimes.  Like the day we went to the park and Ike ran round and round with a ball. As Cat called for him to come back, I sat smirking whilst Brenda just rolled her eyes.

But enough of the cheekiness we get up to, I’m going to tell you about my life training to become a Canine Partner.

The first rule of being a Canine Partner is that you have to be extra good and obedient. Because my owner will be in a wheelchair most of the time, the first thing I had to learn was to sit and wait at the door when we arrive home, and only come in when I am told to. I love my food and at first I thought that it was ridiculous that I had to sit and wait whilst it was ready for me in the bowl, but now I am further into my training I understand why. It’s because if I go straight to the bowl I might knock my poor partner over.

In order to graduate from puppy training and go on to ‘big school’, otherwise known as advanced training, I had to show Cat what a clever and responsible dog I really am. Now I’m in this higher level of training I have learnt how to pick up the post, pull the bed clothes back and help someone get out of bed. My favourite task of all is handing my owner’s purse to a shopkeeper because they always says “what a clever dog” when I do it right.

Now that I am an advanced dog I get the chance to live with the Watson family at weekends. I love this because they always play with me and take me on amazing walks. Other than Cat they’re my favourite human friends.

Last week Cat took me to meet a lady in a wheelchair to see if she would like to have me as her assistance dog. She said yes she would! Now I’m even more excited than before, all my hard work in training is coming to life and soon my adventures with my partner will really start!!

If you loved hearing about Rusty’s Adventures with the Watson family and in training and would like to become either a volunteer puppy parent or fosterer for one of our dogs, we’d love to hear from you.

Visit our volunteering pages for further information and when you’ve found what it is you’d like to do, fill out one of our enquiry forms on the relevant page.