Volunteers are needed in Crawley to offer homes to puppies training to be assistance dogs

The national charity is looking for puppy parents in Crawley and surrounding areas to provide their puppies with the love, care and skills they need to get ready for the next stage of their training.

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

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

Puppies-in-training live in the volunteer’s home from around eight-weeks-old until they are ready to start advanced training when they are between 12 and 14 months, at the Southern Training Centre near Midhurst or the Midlands Training Centre in Leicestershire.

Canine Partners’ expert trainers are on hand to support puppy parents, as training involves home visits, one-to-ones, town visits and puppy classes in order to socialise the puppy and get them used to all situations they may need to be in as a fully trained canine partner.

More than 1.2 million people in the UK use a wheelchair, and a significant number of those would benefit from a canine partner. The dogs are carefully matched to the applicant’s needs and lifestyle, no matter how challenging.

To become a puppy parent in one of Canine Partners’ 13 puppy satellites across the country including Crawley, you need to be aged 18 or over, work less than full-time and be willing to make a long term commitment of at least 14 months.

To find out more about becoming a puppy parent for Canine Partners, please visit caninepartners.org.uk/puppy-parents/, call 08456 580 480 or email [email protected]