Young people at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children will choose the names of two police dogs thanks to new charity partnership.
The link-up between Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC) and Police Scotland will see two new springer spaniel puppies visit the hospital’s play room to meet the children.
The dogs will be used by PC Richard Smith and PC Phil Farndell, with the youngsters selecting from the names ‘Marshall’, ‘Chase’ or ‘Sully’ for PC Smith’s pooch and ‘Frodo’, ‘Banjo’ or ‘Ludo’ for PC Farndell’s.
It’s the first time the idea has been carried out in Scotland and if successful, it’s hoped that it will be replicated at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow and become an annual event.
Roslyn Neely, Chief Executive at ECHC, said: “We’re really excited about this new partnership with Police Scotland and their Police Dog branch and what better way to start than letting the children name the new springer spaniels.
“The idea has developed after one of ECHC’s Volunteer Champions saw this in her home country of Australia and thought it could work well over here in Scotland.
“It’s not been done before so it’s great that we’re the first and we can’t wait to see the smiles on the children’s faces when they get to meet the dogs and name them.”
Police handlers will accompany the dogs to the hospital where they will meet children in the playroom.
Therapets, which provide comfort to the children, are often in the hospital, however, it will be a new experience for them to meet the police dogs.
Inspector Leigh McManus, Specialist Operations, Mounted and Dog Unit West Command at Police Scotland, said: “Anything with dogs is always a sure-fire hit on our social media channels, especially with youngsters, so it’s great that we can get involved like this and give the children a bit of fun.
“We’re really hopeful that it can become an annual event and spread across Scotland to get the youngsters involved with naming other dogs.
“Working alongside the ECHC to brighten up the children’s lives with this new partnership is something we’re all excited about.
Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity supports and complements the work of the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in the capital.
It aims to transform the experiences of children and young people in hospital so that they can be a child first and a patient.
The dog’s new names will be announced on Monday October 30, after voting from the children ends.
John graduated from Telford College in 2010 with an HNC in Practical Journalism and since then he worked for the North Edinburgh News, The Southern Reporter, the Irish News Review and The Edinburgh Reporter. In addition he has been published in the Edinburgh Evening News and the Hibernian FC Programme.
