大象传媒

Dogs have the power to change lives. Research has shown that dogs can improve our physical health, reduce stress and help develop self-esteem. They can provide practical assistance, help increase our opportunities to socialise and bring families closer together.

Dogs for Good is a life-transforming charity that trains dogs to support people with a wide variety of disabilities and conditions to live full and active lives in the community.听 Through their assistance dog service, Dogs for Good partner highly trained dogs with adults and children with physical disabilities and with families with a child with autism. Over the past 30-years Dogs for Good have successfully partnered almost 900 beneficiaries with their trained assistance dogs enabling them to lead more independent lives.

Dogs for Good's assistance dogs are trained to retrieve dropped and out of reach items, to open and close doors, remove articles of clothing and to bark on command in case of an emergency.听 Alongside this practical support, these working dogs also offer unconditional friendship and emotional support. Together, these benefits enable people to return to work or education, to have the confidence to go out on their own without a carer and can enable a family with a child with autism to enjoy holidays and days out safely together.

Demand for Dogs for Good's services is at an all-time high and they have a large waiting list across all of their services.听Dogs for Good听want to be able to help more individuals with the help of a trained dog, and continue to create new ways of providing support.

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I am so pleased to be telling you about the amazing work of Dogs for Good.

Being a dog owner myself I understand the huge benefits dogs can bring to people鈥檚 lives. My dogs have offered me unconditional, judgment-free love and devotion for many years and have helped me through difficult times.

Dogs for Good utilises the power of the human-dog bond to help transform the lives of children and adults living with a variety of disabilities.听 Its assistance dog service is a wonderful example of how dogs can be trained to provide both practical and emotional support to people living with a disability.听 Sadly, each year demand for the charity鈥檚 services far outweighs their ability to provide support, which is why I鈥檓 appealing to you to ask for your support.

Their work really is life-changing, as you鈥檒l see in the appeal and in the lives of Jacqui, Joel, and Samuel.

Like most young boys, nine year-old Samuel was a human whirlwind and liked nothing better than playing football and rugby with his friends. However during one particular rugby match he suffered a spinal stroke, which has left him reliant on a wheelchair.

Samuel was partnered with assistance dog Heather in 2017 and she鈥檚 helped him regain his independence and confidence. She retrieves dropped articles, removes clothing and pulls his wheelchair to him, which means he no longer has to ask for as much help from his parents or older siblings. 听She鈥檚 also acted as a motivator during physio sessions. The first time she accompanied him, he doubled the number of steps he took in half the amount of time it had previously taken him!

She鈥檚 also made a big impact on the family as a whole, says mum Ali: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a far less stressful house with Heather here.听 She鈥檚 such a cheeky girl and makes us laugh every day.听 She鈥檚 perfect.鈥�

14-year old Joel has autism. He describes his assistance dog Caddie as 鈥渕y special friend, my Super Dog.鈥� He says, 鈥淭his world I live in, I find hard, I find everything hard, but Caddie keeps me calm and keeps me safe.鈥澨�

Caddie enables Joel to safely go out with family, as attached to Caddie鈥檚 special harness, he can鈥檛 bolt or run off.听Caddie is Joel鈥檚 constant friend; always by his side. Caddie rests his head on Joel if Joel feels anxious; an action which Joel finds deeply reassuring.

When the family are out and about, people see Joel with Caddie and they are instantly more compassionate and tolerant because they鈥檙e aware he needs special support. This year, Joel has happily gone into a caf茅 and ordered a drink for the first time.听 Another recent breakthrough was at the dentist; with Caddie鈥檚 reassuring presence, Joel opened his mouth and allowed the dentist to touch his teeth for the first time ever!

At the age of 41 Jacqui was diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting Multiple Sclerosis, which caused her to lose the ability to walk. Prior to diagnosis, Jacqui had been a very active person; she was an accomplished Latin dancer, horse rider and walker. 听The loss of her mobility was devastating and Jacqui鈥檚 mental health suffered.

The turning point came for her when she heard about Dogs for Good and successfully applied for an assistance dog.听From the moment Duke arrived, her life changed. Alongside the practical tasks he could do for her, he helped to repair Jacqui鈥檚 confidence and ease her grief.听鈥淭he world suddenly became brighter and I started to feel more like myself鈥�,听she said.听She was suddenly able to get out and about and found that everywhere she went people would stop and talk to her.

Her husband said: 鈥淓motionally, Duke gave me my wife back; he鈥檚 a godsend, an absolute godsend.鈥�