Left to right: Sue Fencott and Ximenis, Zoe Parton and Ikea, Sandra Parton and Danny, Allen Parton and Endal.

Canine Partners' new recruit
given expert demonstration

Left to right: Zoe Parton and Ikea, Sandra Parton, Rene King, Sue Fencott and Ximenis, Lou Smith, Allen and Endal.

The amazing way in which Endal enables Allen Parton in his daily life has not been missed by the staff at the post office and they unanimously decided to try and support Canine Partners in their efforts to enable more disabled people like Allen. So they have set about buying leads, collars and toys to kit out the charity's new intakes of puppies as they start their training as raw recruits at six weeks old, eventually graduating some 17 months later.

The puppies come into training in teams with names starting with the letter of that particular intake, currently the Y team holds the latest recruits.

Lou Smith, P.O. manager, said: "We wanted to feel we were doing something that really mattered and would make a difference. We are all too aware that equipment costs can really mount up for any organisation such as Canine Partners. This way we can add week-by-week to the donation. We were so amazed at how quickly our efforts eventually mounted up. Hopefully one day we'll see some puppies out and about and have a great feeling of pride knowing that we have played our part and they are sporting leads and collars given by us."

Sandra Parton, Canine Partners' puppy operations manager, said: "All our puppy parents love to take home their new fluffy bundles with a puppy pack with new equipment in it. We currently take in 32 puppies a year and their first starter pack can cost quite a bit. This generous gift will go a long way to reduce these overheads."

Anyone who is interested in becoming a puppy parent or would like to help Canine Partners can contact the charity either by ringing 0845 6580480 or by visiting the website at www.caninepartners.co.uk for further information.

Southern Co-operatives has been providing services to local communities in the South of England for more than 130 years. One of its founding principles is to support voluntary and self-help organisations in the areas around its stores. Further pictures of the event can be found at www.cwog.co.uk/coop/ - Pictures taken by Derek Wright.