Chelmsford’s first Canine Partners puppy parent

Rhiannon Sheppard (30) from Chelmsford, Essex has become the first local to volunteer as a puppy parent for Canine Partners, a charity that provides highly trained assistance dogs to people with disabilities. She welcomed yellow Labrador Zane to the town earlier this year and is helping look after him during his training to become a fully-fledged canine partner.

Rhiannon lives with her partner Will, cat Hurley, gecko Burny and tarantula Spike. She moved to Chelmsford in 2001 to study Animal Science followed by Animal Biology & Welfare in 2004. However, a depressive disorder that was later diagnosed as a type of bi-polar disease meant that she was not able to hold down full time work.

After reading about Canine Partners in a local free newspaper, Rhiannon decided to apply to become a puppy parent. “I knew I needed a role that would provide me with routine and exercise, as well as challenging me. Within a short space of time I was contacted by the Essex puppy trainer, a home visit was arranged and I was approved as a puppy parent!”

As part of her role as a puppy parent, Rhiannon must offer Zane a supportive family home and socialise him into the local community. She also attends weekly puppy training classes at Writtle College with other volunteer puppy parents from the local area, where she is learning how to teach Zane some core tasks such as retrieving, touching and tugging. Rhiannon will have Zane until he is around 14 months old when he will then return to the training centre in West Sussex to embark on his advanced taskwork training and be matched to a person with disabilities.

“When I saw Zane, I knew this was my chance to overcome my health issues at the same time as helping a person with disabilities,” continues Rhiannon. “I was more than excited and studied the commands as well as taking him on walks, to shops, the doctors, schools – everywhere! Zane is full of beans and keeps me busy, but his training is going very well. He keeps me happy and who wouldn’t laugh when you see a puppy in the garden with your knickers in his mouth! Anyone who has the time and space for a dog can help, whether it is as full time puppy parent, part time foster-parent or even volunteering to help with fundraising events via the Essex satellite office. Canine Partners is a fantastic charity, opening doors to independence for disabled people and I would recommend puppy parenting to anyone.”

Jay Denton from Chelmsford has multiple sclerosis and graduated with canine partner Drummer in 2009. “Some of the ways Drummer helps me are by getting the laundry out of the machine and putting it into the dryer; he also collects wayward pegs that I drop should I decide to hang the washing out; pegs that would otherwise have to stay on the grass until one of the children were around to collect them up for me. Anything that I drop such as keys, gloves, even my crutches he will pick up and hand back to me or put it onto my lap. All of these may seem like small token tasks, but to someone with a finite amount of energy and always under the looming cloud of fatigue, it’s a huge help; it’s the little jobs that exhaust me!”

Canine Partners is keen to hear from anyone who feels they can offer a full-time or foster home to a puppy in the Essex region. Canine Partners will cover all vets fees and equipment costs, as well as expenses. For further information please contact Emily Lawrence on 07956 178543

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Canine Partners for Independence. Registered in England No. 2516146. Charity Commission Registered No. 803680. Scottish Registered Charity No. SCO39050