PRO DOGS National Charity launched its new visiting scheme at Discover Dogs. Called ‘Friends for Life’ it is an extension of its highly successful school and youth visiting scheme ‘Pro Dogs Educators’ which was launched at Crufts earlier this year.

All dogs must be healthy, vaccinated/boosted, wormed and temperamentally suited to working with and meeting people. Dogs (and cats) must undergo an ‘aptitude assessment’; they are all covered against third party risks, automatically.

Progression

Owners are required to furnish two referees and to be members of Pro Dogs. They will be encouraged to visit local hospitals, hospices, nursing homes, retirement homes, and even young offenders institutions and prisons, on occasion.

In setting up this scheme, CEO Mike Findlay says “This seems a logical progression from school visiting and youth groups, where our initial aim was to educate the dog owners of the future about the responsibilities implicit in dog owning. We have a ready-made army of suitable volunteers and exceptional dogs, and we don’t need to re-invent the wheel.

“We see ‘Friends for Life’ not as a rival to other groups doing similar work, but rather augmenting or supplementing the excellent community service they give”