Buddy from when he was very (very!) young

It's Buddy time! Hurraaaaaay!

Let's go back in time now, to when Buddy really was a cute little puppy. How about... three weeks of age?

Awwwww! Cute! (By the way, it's fine to say 'hurrayyyyy' and 'awwwww' and 'cute' a lot - we do, all the time).

Here he was with his family. His brothers and sisters were quite a mix of colours!

Honestly? We're not sure which is which! We count seven black Labs so you have a one in seven chance of getting it right.

Three weeks later, Buddy had grown sufficiently to start exploring the world and say hello to it.

He was already growing in confidence by this point, happily going for a good old sniff-around.

It didn't take him long before he realised how much fun can be had by chewing a plastic plant pot.

Buddy continued to grow in confidence and in stature! Yes, puppies do develop incredibly quickly in their early weeks, none more so than Labradors. You can even see how Buddy started to learn more about how the world works. The answer: very well, as long as you have a tennis ball in your mouth.

It didn't take long before he started taking on trees. 

And this brings us to recent times. Buddy is such a clever boy already. He's learning to come when his name is called - and he does it in such a cute way, legs not quite coordinated, puppy tail in the air, ears flapping happily!

This is actually a very important skill, which puppies start to learn from a very early age. As Buddy grows, he'll need to come back when asked, in all sorts of situations: running around in the fields, before getting into the car, going for walks in the woods and so on. This is because the last thing we want is for his eventual deaf partner to be left on their own. They'll need to have confidence that their furry friend will always be nearby, and ready to come when called. As you can see, Buddy is only too happy to oblige.

It's all going so well for Buddy. You could even say he's blossoming!

Well done Buddy, you're a super little chap - charming, cute, adorable, smart, full of beans and with such a bright future ahead of you.

Buddy is also doing really well because of your kindness. We're so pleased that you're supporting him. So, from all of us at Hearing Dogs for Deaf People - and from Buddy too, of course - thank you!