Ella Harvey, whose father Gavin lost both legs on a tour of duty in Afghanistan, nominated the bouncy puppy for helping to get the family active together and his special bond with her. The canine will be rewarded for his services to friendship with a LEGO® place of honour at the new LEGO Friends Heartlake City area at the LEGOLAND® Windsor Resort.
The Harvey family got Sully when he was just 12 weeks old in a bid to get them active together as a family. Ella’s mum Kerry explains: “There’s so much physically that we can’t do together as a family with Gavin’s injuries and we thought having a dog could help us get more active. A year later, it’s undoubtedly worked wonders for us. We walk Sully together regularly and he is a wonderful stress reliever and calming influence for all of us when we might be having a bad day. Although the incident was six years ago, there are still some days that are very stressful and Sully helps us cope, especially Ella and her little sister Millie. One of Ella’s favourite things is climbing up on to her Dad’s wheelchair with Sully for cuddles. He’s undeniably helped us and the bond between Sully and Ella is quite extraordinary: he really is her best friend.”
The search for the nation’s best pet friend was launched by the LEGOLAND Windsor Resort when a recent survey confirmed the unbreakable bond between children and their pets, with one in six saying their animals were better friends than their human buddies. Sully was named the ultimate Best Furry Friend in a Facebook poll and in recognition of his unique friendship with Ella the handsome, brown and white spaniel will now be recreated in LEGO to take up permanent residence at the Resort.
Animal mad Ella, a pupil at Sandroyd Preparatory School also has a pony, cats and a fish and was delighted to hear her best furry friend has now been declared the nation’s Best Furry Friend: “I’m really excited and I can’t wait for Sully to see himself in LEGO! Sully is my best furry friend because he makes me happy and helps me feel calm when I’m worried – he is great for cuddling when we feel sad.”
The family including Sully will visit the Resort to unveil his LEGO model at the end of August.
