Finn's Puppy Page

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Harvey and Finn

Harvey with Finn his buddy dog sitting together at a playground

“Hello, I’m Sarah and Finn has been partnered with my seven-year-old son, Harvey, as a buddy dog!”

At just four years old, Harvey was diagnosed with bilateral retinal cancer and went through intense chemotherapy treatment. It was a very scary time, but Harvey was incredible throughout and I’m thankful that he is now stable, although he has no sight in his left eye and very little in his right.

Since Finn joined our family, the difference I’ve seen in Harvey is incredible. Harvey’s confidence and self esteem have increased dramatically, even his school have noticed! Since his diagnosis, Harvey hadn’t slept in his own bed; he didn’t like to be alone so would always sleep in my room. Now, he sleeps in his own bed happily and Finn will either sleep on the floor by his side or out on the upstairs landing – he’s never far away.

Finn has brought a level of calm and contentment to our home. He gets us up every morning and gives us a reason to get out of the house. Finn has brought us together as a family; he gives us a focus and a purpose. We regularly enjoy days out and we now tailor these days around Finn. Finn’s favourite place is the beach, or anywhere with a river – he just loves water! He and Harvey could spend hours swimming together.

I still can’t believe how lucky we are to have Finn. Since he arrived, our days have been filled with joy, and I feel a renewed sense of hope for the future. Thank you so much for sponsoring him.

Pupdate 6 - Finn’s potential career

Hello, it’s Sam here and I am Finn’s trainer.

In your last Pupdate, Finn’s trainer Ann mentioned all the important skills Finn was working on that would help him in his journey to becoming a guide dog. However, Finn has been displaying some quite serious stopping behaviours on his walks, which means with a potential guide dog owner he wouldn’t be able to reliably guide them and keep them safe. Although he did this when he first came to training school, he seemed to improve, and was making great progress. However, he seemed to struggle with the change of moving on to advanced training, and although we’ve bonded really well, he’s gone back to his old habits. I’ve worked hard with him to try and encourage his motivation, but unfortunately we haven’t seen improvements. Every dog is unique, and has their own quirks and personalities, but we soon realised that a career as a guide dog wasn’t going to be right for Finn, and he may be better suited as a buddy dog.

Buddy dogs

Becoming a guide dog isn’t quite right for every dog we train, and some will undergo a career change to be assessed as a buddy dog. These dogs are for children living with sight loss; they offer companionship and can significantly improve a child’s wellbeing. Buddy dogs can help with a child’s physical activity and build confidence, which helps them to create better relationships with others. Although a buddy dog isn’t a mobility aid in the same way that a guide dog is, they have an incredible impact on the lives of the children they are matched with.

Finn’s previous skills and experiences

While he was a pup-in-training, Finn mastered a lot of crucial skills that will help him in a potential career as a buddy dog. He is able to settle down with a bit of support, and he’s great with other dogs and people of all ages. Everyone absolutely loves Finn, he’s such a sweetheart and he loves cuddles and any sort of affection! He is also incredibly patient and intelligent so he’d really enjoy a busy household. He loves spending time with his fosterer’s dogs and doesn’t get distracted, so this will really help him feel comfortable in lots of other environments. Being such a clever dog, Finn is always switched on and he may stop on walks. It’s not because he’s distracted, he just doesn’t want to keep walking. I think this is a really important quality for him with his future family as it means he’ll remain focussed, even if he does decide to stop en-route. His recall when he’s running is brilliant as well, so I have faith that he won’t go running off to say hello to other people!

Next steps

Over the next few weeks, Finn will hopefully be accepted for the buddy dog scheme and will then be assessed to see if he responds well to all the scenarios a buddy dog may experience. If he ticks all the boxes, the team will then find a potential family that he could be matched with. During this process, they will look for a child and family that are best suited for Finn and vice versa. I’m sure Finn will be brilliant and will help provide confidence and friendship to a child with a visual impairment.

Thank you so much for all of your support throughout Finn’s journey. Look out for an update on how Finn is getting on in the next few months.

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