Canine Partners – opening
the doors to independence

Claire Graham and Ulli are always together now and Claire appreciates the independence the partnership has given her.

CANINE Partners assists people with disabilities to enjoy greater independence and a better quality of life through the help of specially trained dogs.

Training assistance dogs allows Canine Partners to totally transform the lives of people with disabilities and their families, enriching human life in practical ways such as dressing and undressing, supermarket shopping and vital emergency response procedures. Caring for and managing a dog (a canine partner) not only enriches human life in practical ways, but also provides physiological, psychological and social benefits that help keep people healthy and happy.

As a registered charity Canine Partners receives no government funding and is wholly dependent on public donations and legacies. There are currently over 100 partnerships throughout the country and it costs approximately £10,000 to train each dog.

On completion of their training, dogs trained by Canine Partners can respond to approximately 100 commands, including:

• Operating a pedestrian crossing or lift button
• Loading a washing machine
• Retrieving a wide variety of items as required, for example keys, an inhaler, crutches or the telephone
• Picking chosen items off supermarket shelves
• Handing over a purse and items at the checkout
• Assisting with dressing and undressing
• Carrying out a range of emergency response procedures

The dogs’ well-being
Our dogs receive a huge amount of praise, love and affection throughout the training programme and a Partner takes up this responsibility once they graduate with the dog. Canine Partners ensures each dog achieves its full potential to lead a full and rewarding life by providing the best possible care and overseeing their well-being at every stage of the partnership and into retirement.

Puppy education
Puppies are carefully selected using specially developed aptitude tests, which help to identify potential assistance dogs. Essential qualities include a gentle, co-operative nature, curiosity, a strong desire to be with people and a steady temperament.

Yarka is enjoying his puppyhood with his puppy parents. Many puppies just like him are in need of puppy parents to look after them until they are ready to be partnered with a disabled person.

The puppies are cared for by volunteer "puppy parents" from the age of eight weeks to about 14 months. By attending weekly training classes, puppy parents learn how to socialise puppies to every environment an assistance dog might work in, such as busy streets, shops, hospitals, supermarkets and bus stations.

Puppies are taught how to problem-solve, a quality crucial to successfully working as an assistance dog at an exceptionally high level.

Advanced training
Following successful assessment, the young dogs begin their advanced training that lasts between three to six months. Each day, the dogs are worked in both the training centre and in public, developing and honing their skills in preparation for placement. They learn to use their initiative as well as to respond quickly and reliably when asked.

For example, one dog observed his partner having difficulty with reaching for his card at the cash point. The dog, without command, reached up and took the money and card from the dispenser for his partner.

Apart from all the hard work, the dogs enjoy extensive exercise and play. This helps to prepare them for the rigours of working as an assistance dog.

A partnership perspective - Claire Graham and Ulli
April 15th 1989 just another day - only by the end of that day I was in hospital attached to all sorts of machines and unable to move because I was paralysed. Car accident, sports lnjury? No, just one of life’s little viruses, which was given a very fancy title of Transverse Myelitis.

I slowly recovered over a period of five months in hospital and 13 months off work. I returned to my work at the Bank Of Scotland, bought my own flat and carried on life - now with my disability.

Ten years later in 1999 I met Paul (who is now my husband, we have been married for three years). In 2000 complications came about due to my condition and I was once again in hospital. Paul asked me to leave the bank and come down to Surrey so he could look after me. It was a dream come true - get out of work after 20 years and get a guy to look after me, so I did just that and retired from the bank.

Shortly after that Paul changed jobs which involved moving around the UK. I slowly began to lose my confidence to go out to new places as I didn't know anyone, my self-esteem was low and I was quite happy sitting doing nothing and going nowhere - I had changed from being an outgoing person to a recluse.

Then by chance I met Wendy Ireland and Indi, her canine partner and she gave me a leaflet about Canine Partners. In a nutshell, I applied, was asked to come along to an applicant day and then went on the 12-day training course, graduated and came home with Ulli.

Ulli and I have been together over a year and wow what a year. When we first came home we were both very shy and scared but our confidence has grown together and we have become a real team. We have flown up to Glasgow on our own and after many years I had the confidence to get back on a horse with the RDA.

My husband doesn't phone home first, he calls the mobile to see where we both are - out doing everyday things and meeting people. Ulli and I are a team, we have a passion for life and we trust each other every step of the way and this only the beginning . . .

How can you help?
Canine Partners is always looking for fundraisers and volunteers. We are also keen to find puppy parents in the Surrey area. Puppies stay with puppy parents from approximately eight weeks old until they are considered ready to be returned to the charity to continue training, from approximately 12 months of age. Although previous experience with dogs is not required, a puppy parent needs to meet the following criteria:

• Be at home most of the day
• Have a secure, dog-friendly garden
• Have the stamina to manage an active young puppy
• Attend regular puppy classes
• Follow Canine Partners’ training methods

For further information, please contact Canine Partners via www.caninepartners.co.uk or by calling 08456 580480.

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