MEET Sandie - a Canine Partners superdog in the making - named by Haslemere residents.

The assistance dogs charity was one of 2017/18 town mayor Malcolm Carter’s nominated good causes and, thanks to an enthusiastic response, almost £6,000 was raised.

Mr Carter said: “It was my pleasure to have Canine Partners as my charity last year and through the generosity of many in the town, we were able to donate £5,700.

“Raising this sum means we were entitled to name a puppy. Lo and behold here she is - called Sandie much to the delight of the mayoress.

“Thank you once again for your support and to Andy and Sue Simms who gave many hours of their time for my cause.”

Sandie is a golden retriever and labrador cross aged around four months. She will be trained by one of the charity’s dedicated volunteer puppy parents at its puppy training satellite in Hull.

A charity spokesman said: “Sandie will be trained by her puppy parent until she is around 18 months old. After that, she will come to the charity’s West Sussex training centre to learn her advanced tasks and she will also be assessed to see if she has the skills required to become a Canine Partners assistance dog.

“We are extremely grateful for Haslemere’s support and for enabling us to start another puppy on our training programme.”

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

The specially trained dogs also provide psychological and social benefits, including increased independence, confidence, social interaction and self-esteem.

A town fundraiser for the charity at Haslemere Museum, sponsored by Christopher and Carmen Ashton-Jones, raised just under £3,500 for the cause. Guest speaker Jon Flint gave a moving account of his experience of living with disability and the huge impact his assistance dog Jester has had in improving his quality of life.”

* Visit caninepartners.org.uk volunteers.