Yahoo News Alison Hammond introduces This Morning's new puppy sending fans wild
This Morning fans will name the puppy who has a very special job
Watch Alison Hammond introduces This Morning's new puppy sending fans wild
What did you miss?
Alison Hammond and Dermot O'Leary greeted the latest member of This Morning's family - a gorgeous puppy.
Presenters Hammond - who will host Love of Dogs - and O'Leary were delighted to meet eight-week-old golden labrador autism assistant puppy who joined them on the This Morning sofa alongside Jan Kiley, CEO of Dogs for Autism charity, and Dr Scott, who is the resident vet of the daytime TV show.
Opening the show, Hammond and O'Leary teased the exciting announcement as they revealed they were welcoming someone else to the This Morning family just weeks after ITV recently announced Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley will be new hosts.
What, how and why?
O'Leary kicked off the show saying: "We are going to be introducing you to a brand new member of the This Morning family." About 10 minutes later, O'Leary revealed the puppy would be making an appearance. He said: "Drum roll please."
Hammond made the announcement saying: "It's an adorable eight-week-old puppy. Here he comes!" This Morning then played Puppy Love as the puppy was brought into the studio. "Oh my goodness, look at this baby," cooed Hammond. "It's like the Andrex puppy! Gorgeous. Welcome to the show."
O'Leary introduced the puppy saying: "This is everyone a very important dog because he is officially being enrolled as an autism assistant. We are going to be hearing about the strenuous training routine a little bit later on. Here to tell us a little bit more about the charity this puppy works closely with is Jan Kiley, Dogs for Autism, also our resident vet Dr Scott."
Kiley, COO for Dogs for Autism charity, explained a little more about the puppy and his special role. She said, "He was 8 weeks old yesterday and today is his first official day as a trainee assistance dog. He’s a yellow labrador. We train them for children and adults with autism."
She added: "Training is all about manners and teaching them about what is acceptable and what isn’t, but also giving them lots of interaction with lots of different people and going to different places, but being very careful not to push them too far. Then in the future, around 12-18 months, during the training he will learn to do things specifically for autistic people."
This Morning’s resident vet Dr Scott added: "I have two children that have autism, Jackson who is nine, and he had a speech disorder which means he didn’t speak for the first four years of his life and has a bit of difficulty at school, emotionally, and with our dog Ludo we’ve really seen an improvement in his ability to be able to relax - having that big dog to hug make a big difference to him.
"Our youngest, Riley, is non-verbal, she can speak bits of words but not too much, and again, the companionship of dogs make a big difference, and also, this is the first anniversary of my own personal diagnosis."
Dr Scott added: "I saw things in them that I could relate to, and one thing that has been consistent for me in the companionship of animals. I knew they were there to help and support me, so from the age of seven, I knew I wanted to give back to them. But I didn’t know why… and now, finding a charity [like this] that supports autism is so important to be able to give children to develop that relationship with animals because it makes such a difference to their lives."
How did viewers react?
This Morning tasked their viewers with coming up with a name for the puppy and to share their ideas on social media. By the end of the show, Hammond and O'Leary announced the eight-week-old puppy's name Buddy.
Social media went wild for the puppy sharing the sofa on This Morning. Among the comments, one wrote: "Aww! Even the puppy gets his own sofa. This Morning."
Everyone couldn't agree on the names for the dog but among them, some people suggested it would be a fitting tribute for the puppy to be named after Paul O'Grady. "Think the puppy should be named paul after the late Paul O'Grady. ThisMorning puppy," one person wrote.
Another wrote: "Agreed... puppy should be called Paul."
Others suggested he should be named after Ben Shephard who left Good Morning Britain on Friday to join This Morning in March. Among the comments, one viewer wrote: "Name the puppy Ben after Ben Shepherd as he leaves GMB and joins your This Morning family." In the end, This Morning chose Buddy.
This Morning airs weekdays from 10am on ITV1 & ITVX
