Canary Wharf is a busy place, especially at lunch times but you don’t often expect to see many four-legged visitors out and about in the shopping centre. However, if you went down to Canada Place Mall today, you would have come across the Canine Partners Dog display where there were plenty of four-legged visitors who were attracting a lot of attention. Looking as gorgeous as they do, it’s certainly not hard to see why!
It’s not just their good looks that make these dogs so special, it’s the role they play in their owner’s lives that makes them so incredible, they are literally life transforming. Canine Partners dogs provide assistance to people with even the most complex of disabilities and each dog is trained to meet the owner’s individual needs. Aside from the psychological and social benefits these dogs provide, they are trained to help with everyday tasks such as opening and shutting doors, unloading the washing machine, pressing buttons and getting help in an emergency. Some Canine Partners dogs like Edward below, are even recognised as an official carer and get paid for their work!
The Canine Partners dogs were putting a smile on plenty of people’s faces today at Canary Wharf and it was great to see them in action and learn more about this amazing charity and these inspirational dogs. We are most definitely in awe of these canine heroes.
Canine Partners dogs are provided free of charge to their owners but it was sad to hear that despite how crucial a role these dogs play in the lives of people with disabilities, Canine Partners don’t receive any government funding and rely on the public for support. Hopefully after today, they will have lots more supporters. To find out more about them, the work they do and how you can help, visit the Canine Partners website.
