AN Alton man and his dog made philatelic history by helping to promote a new stamp series, on Wednesday. Working on behalf of Canine Partners, Bernard Wallis and golden retriever, Jinx, were photographed at a launch by the Royal Mail of its new Working Dogs stamps. The picture shoot was held at Canine Partner's HQ near Midhurst where Jinx spent his early days learning to assist people with disabilities, helping them to enjoy greater independence and a better quality of life. Jinx was then teamed up with Mr Wallis, who is wheelchair bound and suffers from MS. Star assistance dog, Jinx is featured on the 1st class stamp of the new Royal Mail series. The eight-year-old retriever is shown with an envelope in his jaws delivering letters and collecting mail that the postman has dropped through a letterbox – just one of the many tasks that an assistance dog can do. Melanie Corfield, Royal Mail's head of external relations for London and the South East said: "It's easy to forget that there's a 'secret army' of thousands of hard-working dogs who make a real difference to many lives. "I hope that this issue will help raise the profile of their important work as customers see the dogs on millions of letters and parcels every day." This year has been designated Year of the Assistance Dog allowing Canine Partners and four other charities to jointly campaign for better services and rights for all assistance dog users. Canine Partners has placed more than 140 dogs around the UK since its launch in 1991. The charity receives no government funding and relies solely on public generosity to support its work. Terry Knott, Canine Partners chief executive officer, said: "These stamps look fantastic and we are delighted that an assistance dog is on the 1st class stamp. We are hoping that seeing the stamps will encourage people to stop and think how many people can benefit from assistance dogs trained by charities such as Canine Partners."
