Name: Kate Popple
Dog: Daisy
Daisy and I have been enjoying being part of the Canine Concern team since the beginning of 2018.
I had lost my husband and two little jack russells in a short space of time and when Daisy was gifted to me it was an ideal opportunity to try something new. We started with another organisation, as a friend was working with them, but changed to Canine Concern (as did the friend!) when new regulations were implemented. Daisy is the first dog I’ve owned who is happy doing this work, as she has such a lovely, gentle nature. She enjoys meeting people and all the attention it brings, and we both love going to such different places. Not all dogs will like the role, even if their owner tries to train them to enjoy being a care dog, but Daisy has been great.
We started at a local day care centre which caters for mentally & physically challenged, mainly older, people. It was very enjoyable and rewarding, but it was suggested that another visit to young children would be beneficial, to counterbalance the emotional impact. Thomas a Beckett infant school were looking for a reading dog and, until the pandemic, we did both of these venues weekly, with occasional visits to university sites, offices, and police stations.
We returned to the school as soon as it was allowed, but as the day-care centre was having to be extremely vigilant, we retired from there.
The school now has a nurture farm in their garden area with ducks & guinea pigs, where children who are having a hard time are allowed to have some relaxation. This is wonderful for Daisy, as we make a little course with tyres and logs for the children to lead her round (with me at the end of the lead too) and we play hide & seek and have races. Oh, and we still do a bit of reading as well!
We were recently invited to a brownie pack which was entertaining, have been to a few well-being post-exam colleges and are looking forward to going back to Centenary House police station next month.
I am also a local assessor for Canine Concern, using my dog training knowledge to help assess if a dog is suitable and will enjoy the experience. I have assessed many dogs in the area and we have a good strong team of members now who often meet up for the group visits to the universities, police and local companies.
I also arranged a visit for Val, our CEO, to come to my dog training group meeting to talk about Canine Concern.
Val’s Comments
Since Kate joined us, she has been a great support. promoting us as well as assessing potential new members. Being part of Canine Concern is like being in a big, friendly family, so not only can you do individual visits to a place of your choice, you can join in with the group meetings. We are very lucky to have supportive members like Kate.