Surrey Police dogs make wish come true

Callum Dyer, from Ashford in Middlesex, would love to be a dog trainer for the police when he is older. Unfortunately 15 year-old Callum has congenital heart disease, which prevents him taking part in anything too active, such as football, and may hinder his chances of becoming a dog trainer.

When Make-A-Wish Foundation® UK, the charity that grants magical wishes to children and young people with life-threatening illnesses, was told about Callum and his dream job, a special day was arranged for him on Friday 19 February 2010.

Callum, along with his parents Laura and Kevin and Grandmother Carol, was collected from his home in a staggering stretch Hummer and driven to Mount Browne - the Surrey Police Headquarters in Guildford.

The family was greeted by Police Constable Nigel Rousell who has been with the police for 29 years, 10 of which he has spent training dogs. Nigel took them to meet his colleagues Andy Hayward and John Best, the head of the training school, who gave a safety briefing and took them to the activity field to begin an exciting day of dog training.

Callum was shown how the dogs are taught to find people's belongings and how they chase and catch criminals as well as other skills necessary for being a police officer's best friend. Callum was able to pat the dogs and pose for photos with them.

As a surprise, the Surrey Police helicopter landed in the field especially for Callum. The pilot showed Callum how the helicopter and dogs work together to track criminals on the run.

The whole family enjoyed lunch with the police force before ending the day with a tour around the Mount Browne museum where they learnt about the history of their local police force which has been in action since 1841 and how Surrey Police has solved many crimes over the years.

Callum says: "This has been the best day. I would love to train dogs one day, but for now I would like a pet dog to practice on!"

Callum's mother Laura Childs says: "Make-A-Wish and everyone at Mount Browne has made this day one for us all to treasure and remember forever. Anything that makes Callum happy makes me happy. I love to see him smile. After everything he has been through - more than nine operations -to see him smile means so much. Thank you!"

There are currently 20,000 children and young people like Callum in the UK fighting a life-threatening illness. This year alone around 1,000 children will turn to Make-A-Wish to experience the magic of a Make-A-Wish wish. To grant all these, Make-A-Wish needs to raise at least £5 million in 2010.

To refer a child for a special wish or make a donation, please contact:

Make-A-Wish on 01276 40 50 60

or

visit: www.make-a-wish.org.uk