Osgathorpe based national assistance dog charity opens doors to helping more disabled people

Locally based national assistance dog charity Canine Partners has officially opened its brand new kennel block to its dogs in training, allowing them to train more assistance dogs for disabled people.

The charity, which has two national training centres including one near Osgathorpe, Leicestershire, held an opening event on Thursday 23 September, which was attended by His Royal Highness The Duke of Gloucester.

Canine Partners trains amazing assistance dogs to transform the lives of people with disabilities, boosting their confidence and independence.

Previously the charity had used temporary accommodation and volunteer homes for the dogs in its advanced training programme at the Midlands Training Centre, which limited the number of dogs that were able to be trained as assistance dogs.

“With significant support from charitable trusts and foundations, corporate supporters, organisations and individuals, we were able to secure enough money to build these fantastic new facilities,” says Cat Harvey, Head of Fundraising. “We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who donated to our ‘Raise the Woof’ appeal and for enabling us to continue transforming lives for years to come.”

The new kennels can house up to 40 dogs at any one time, which means that in future years, the charity will be able to help many more disabled people enjoy greater independence and a better quality of life, by being partnered with our assistance dogs.

The dogs are taught a range of everyday tasks including picking up and fetching items, opening doors and helping to undress a person. They can even help to load and unload a washing machine and they can fetch help in an emergency.