Elton is such a handsome chap!

Watch out, here comes Elton...!

... and suddenly he's twice the size! That's what happens with Labradors - they grow up incredibly quickly. And, we're sure you'll agree, they also become exceedingly handsome.

David, one half of Elton's Volunteer Puppy Team with his wife Sally, is a photographer, and it shows. He's been sharing the most sublime photos of Elton that really show him off at his glossy, healthy best. Here they are, David and Elton, clearly mutually smitten.

David also has quite a talent for capturing something of Elton's nature, whether tilting headlong with ears everywhere...

... or just stopping to ponder life with an attractive tilt of the head!

David also captures another side of Elton in the video below: Elton's slightly naughty, cheeky, mischievous, playful and fun side! That's a lot of sides for one puppy!

He may have grown, but he still has that funny, leggy look of a puppy that hasn't quite grown into its paws yet! That's quite apart fromt the fact that he's being daft as a brush with a twig, in a way only puppies can be.

Sally and David have also been helping keep Elton entertained - important during social distancing but absolutely essential during lockdown. Even the best, nicest puppies can become a bit frustrated if they can't expend their energy, so Sally and David decided the best course of action was... a course of agility!

Elton is very agile - and Sally's no slouch either! At the end there's a treat in store for Elton, and a fuss, and no doubt lots of love even after the stop button is pressed.

Still, even given the challenges of social distancing, they've managed to keep Elton on track with his training. Below, you can see how well he coped with his first lift. This could be a bit scary for a puppy - a closed space, strange sounds and smells, the odd sensation of movement underfoot. Not for Elton though!

How was Elton able to stay so calm? Well, it's because he's been taught that new things are not necessarily frightening. From a very early age we encourage our puppies to explore their senses, and learn that the world doesn't have to be scary. In fact, it can be fun, and so they grow in confidence, able to handle pretty much anything that comes their way. Today, it means Elton can travel in a lift for the first time with no problems at all. In future, it means that he won't be startled if, say, a car horn sounds, or someone appears from nowhere in a bright hi-viz jacket. He will always be focused on the person he's with, not distracted by things around him.

This is thanks to Sally and David for being such fab volunteers. But it's also thanks to you, for sponsoring Elton. Without your kindness he wouldn't have come this far, this quickly. So, let's leave you with yet another of David's wonderful portraits of this handsome chap...

... and say, once again, thank you so very much for sponsoring Elton!