‘What a paw-some day!’ – our retirement living customers visited by the Dulux dog to mark 20 year partnership

Dulux has also donated a recycled bench for customers at the scheme to use and this was installed by Citizen’s contractor, Novus Property Solutions, free of charge.

Citizen customer Julia Cealey said she loved being visited by the infamous Dulux pooch.

Julia said: “I was so excited to see the Dulux dog as I am a big lover of animals, so it was great! I had my photo with the dog too and it was really special.

“The new bench is in an ideal spot and people like to sit out there. My flat backs out onto the garden and the bench is right there so I will be sitting on it in the summer. There wasn’t a bench there before so it’s nice to have one there now.”

Richard Podmore, Head of Property Services at Citizen, said it was a brilliant day celebrating the partnerships with Dulux and Novus.

He said: “We had a fantastic day with our customers at Beech Court and being visited by the Dulux dog was a particular highlight – our customers loved it! 

“We have a great partnership with Dulux which has been going strong for the last two decades – our contractors use Dulux products when completing their work. We’re really grateful to receive the donation of the bench which our customers really appreciate sitting on and will get so much use of it in the warmer months. We’d also like to thank Novus for fitting it for us too and for their excellent work with us over the last 10 years.

Dulux has also donated a cuddly toy which will be raffled off at Beech Court and the proceeds will be given to charity.

Darron Ashfield, Senior Technical Support Manager from Dulux Decorator Centre, said: “Dulux Decorator Centre is committed to creating a positive impact in communities through a range of social value initiatives, bringing colour and vibrancy into people’s lives. Social projects take many forms and being invited to support the transformation of the garden space at Beech Court, and witnessing the difference it has made for residents, was truly inspiring.

“As we celebrate 20 years of partnership with Citizen, it felt fitting to mark the occasion by bringing along our star guest, the iconic Dulux Dog (Olivia), to share in the joy.”

Darren Bowkett, Senior Operations from Novus said: “It’s been a pleasure to support Citizen and Dulux in marking this fantastic milestone. At Novus, we’re passionate about building strong community partnerships and making a positive difference for residents — so being able to install the new bench and see how much it’s already being enjoyed was incredibly rewarding. Congratulations to Citizen and Dulux on 20 years of collaboration — here’s to many more!”