BBC One to air Midhurst charity’s appeal starring Olympic sprinter

Iwan Thomas, who won a silver medal in the 4x400m relay at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, will front the Canine Partners BBC Lifeline Appeal which features heartwarming stories from beneficiaries of the charity.

The appeal comes at a time when Canine Partners, which trains assistance dogs to transform the lives of people with physical disabilities, needs support more than ever due to the impact the coronavirus pandemic is having on its income.

Nicola Martin, the charity’s chief executive, said: “We’ve been building life-transforming partnerships for 30 years but there is still so much more we could do.

“With support for this appeal we will be able to continue to transform lives for the next 30 years and to open the doors to the opportunity of having an amazing assistance dog to even more people living with physical disabilities across the UK.”

At Canine Partners dogs are taught a range of everyday tasks including picking up and fetching items, opening doors and helping to undress a person.

They can even help to load and unload a washing machine and fetch help in an emergency.

The appeal aims to enable the charity to continue transforming the lives of people like 57-year-old Jackie Topp, who was partnered with canine partner Babs, a chocolate Labrador, in July 2015.

Jackie, who has multiple sclerosis, said: “She’s my reason for getting up in the morning and my reason for going out, she makes me get out and talk to people and to get fresh air, otherwise I wouldn’t go out at all.

“I can’t imagine life without Babs now and I don’t know what I would do without her.”

The charity is calling for supporters to raise awareness of the appeal by sharing its posts on social media and helping to spread the word.

Watch Canine Partners’ BBC Lifeline Appeal at 1.50pm on Sunday (March 29) on BBC One.

To find out more visit the Canine Partners website.

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