Here are some of our client’s stories, in their own words.

A letter from Rey to her doggy mummy (pawed Christmas 2020)

Dear Mummy
I’ve had a brilliant year! I qualified (I was such a good girl that day, glad they don’t see me when I’m not working)!
This month I went to London on the big train; it was soooo busy, but I didn’t mind.  I learnt how to use an escalator and the Tube. We went to see a show, but I had to stay in the office; I didn’t mind because I got 2 walks and lots of fuss!
The next day, I had to go on the Tube again (not sure why it’s called a tube, it’s just a busy train). I played in Green Park and got very muddy.
I went to visit The Corgies; they were out, but I got to watch lots of horses walk by with these funny men on them wearing a big red coat. The policeman told us not to cross the road and I sat quietly waiting for all the fuss to pass by. Mum said it was a good job we have lots of horses walk by our house.
I went to Fortnum and Mason and dripped mud all over the floor (Mum HAD to spend lots of money because the lady followed us round mopping it all up.

I went to see Tutankhamun. Wow, he was soooo old, but had some nice sparkly things. People kept stroking me, but I was a good girl and didn’t go up to them. There were some children there too and I really REALLY wanted to go and play with them, but Mum said NO.
We went back to the hotel on that Tubey-train. THEN Mum and Dad wanted me to go and toilet, but I was too tired and refused to move off my bed! I think I worked very hard that day!
I’m going to the cinema next week. Dad wants to see Star Wars. AGAIN!!!! But me and Mum fancy something a bit more girlie. Mum said it’s my birthday soon too, but first that funny man with a red coat (is that what those men on the horses were???) has to come.
Your big girl
Rey

Letting the light in

When Angus and I first qualified as an assistance dog partnership four years ago, I said that it was like drawing back the curtains from my life and letting the light back in. I still feel that way. We have come a long way since then and had many adventures. If anyone had asked me 5 years ago how I would feel about using public transport, going to large sporting events and music gigs and taking on volunteering work, I would have said that long term mental health issues had made this impossible and I could not see a future outside of my home. Yet all of these things and many more have happened because my canine best-buddy is able to accompany me. His trained special skills mean that he senses the onset of episodes that leave me unable to function or communicate and is able to alert me in various ways to minimise the effects or to get me to a safe place to recover. Bizarrely, supermarket shopping is still a big challenge for me. Early on last year during the first lockdown, I became the only person in three households not in isolation. Again, Angus’s support proved invaluable – not just for me but also to improve the quality of life for my family. 

Darwin Dogs look at far more than temperament and obedience at initial assessment, the dog’s welfare is imperative. They must be calm and able to enjoy their work. I have to say that Angus seems born to be an assistance animal. He certainly loves accompanying me and has his own favourite tasks. I would never have believed how much he loves the London Underground network and how he is able to negotiate well used routes without any prompts from me.  So, from the bottom of my heart thank you Darwin Dogs for putting the light back into my life and creating a very happy adventure for Angus.

Scooter - the surfer dude

5 Years ago, a very special young man came into Kirstie’s life. Not only did he save her but he has transformed the lives of countless others. The young man I’m talking about has 4 legs, a wet nose and an electric blue Mohawk. His name is Scooter and he is a dog. Well he’s actually way more, he’s Kirstie’s trainee Assistance Dog, he’s a Therapy Dog who visits patients, visitors and staff at St Richards Hospital, he’s a National Police Wellbeing Dog, available to help debrief officers involved in traumatic events, he’s an Ambassador for local business Harbour Hounds and last but not least he’s now started his own School to teach dogs and their humans to paddleboard and surf together safely.

Not bad for a scruffy mutt thrown out onto the streets of Portugal when he was just a pup. Thanks to O’Cantinho Da Milu, a rescue sanctuary who rehome street dogs, Scooter was given a second chance in life and boy has he made the most of it. Kirstie is a keen surfer and paddleboarder and when she became ill last year, she realised that she could combine her love of these sports and the healing powers of the ocean with her love of Scooter and his skills as a Therapy dog. She taught him how to surf and believes this is what saved her from the crippling PTSD she had developed after 24 years in the Police Service. Not content with all this, they plan to start Salt Water Therapy sessions to raise awareness of Mental Health later this summer in partnership with One Wave Is All It Takes. On 25th July, Scooter will be taking part in the UK Dog Surfing Championships.

Scooter has been nominated for a Naturo Super Dog Award in the Carer Category. Finalists will be invited to a black-tie event at a London Hotel in November hosted by TV personality Stacey Dooley. 

Scooter is currently training with the help of Darwin Dogs to become Kirstie’s full time assistance dog. With her trainer Louise Williamson from South Coast Dog Training School the team attend weekly classes and have 1-2-1 sessions. Scooter is doing really well and absolutely loves “school” as they like to call it. The tasks Scooter is learning to help Kirstie are Deep Pressure Therapy on her by laying across her body or placing his head on it to ground her, nudging her face when she disassociates, and blocking in front, to the sides and rear when in busy places or in queues.

Kirstie suffers from Anxiety when out and about but feels safer with Scooter as his unusual appearance takes the perceived focus off her and onto Scooter. 

With Scooter’s help Kirstie is able to go further afield than she would ordinarily.

Scooter had his first assessment on the 29th April. He passed with flying colours.

Bandit - the Chihuahua Assistance Dog

I never thought having an Assistance dog would, or could, help but I had to try. 

Before finding Darwin Dogs, and training Bandit with them, I couldn't go far away from my “safe zone” (my house) without getting anxious, which often resulted in me getting angry and snapping at family. I would also rub or scratch my hands so much that they would become red and wounds. I couldn't talk to people, go out on my own, even the thought of it would bring panic. But, now I have Bandit task trained, it feels like a dark storm cloud has lifted. I can now go out on my own with him. I can shop, and even ask for help finding things. I could not have done that before. I can arrange meetups with friends. I can even stay over at friend’s houses, which I would have never been able to do before. 

I want Darwin Dogs to be successful so others that have mental health illnesses have another resource they can try so they can have more independence and do things they didn't think they could, no matter how small that thing is. I also want the general public to know what Darwin Dogs does and how they help show people a light at the end of the tunnel, and for them to accept our Assistance Dogs are vital to our mental and physical health and to understand the training and hard work that goes into training them.

My dog Barney:

Quite simply, he’s my world. He keeps me alive, gives me a reason to get up every day and keeps me focused on life.

10 years ago, I was diagnosed with a life-threatening lung disease. My whole life was turned upside down. My career as a physiotherapist came to a very abrupt end and I moved home to live with my parents as I could no longer live independently. I became dependent on oxygen and a cocktail of up to 30 different medications a day to survive.

Unsurprisingly my mental health took a nose dive. I became very anxious; I couldn't leave the house alone. I lost friends, my relationships with family became strained as my moods became more unpredictable due to the side effects of medications, and the sudden change to my life.

A few years later, along came Barney. On the suggestion of a dear consultant, we decided to get a puppy, in the hope it would give me back some focus in my life. Well, he did so much more. I could never have imagined how much Barney could have changed my life when I brought him home as a tiny 8 week old bundle of fluff.

He fitted around my life from the word go.

Within 8 months of his arrival Barney had to deal with me spending 6 weeks away from him, as I was rushed into hospital with a devastating spinal cord injury caused by the medication I take destroying my muscles and ligaments. The day my parents brought him to see me when I was finally allowed to sit up in a wheelchair and be wheeled out into the car park was a moment I'll never forget. It sealed our bond forever. It also made me so determined to get out of hospital and get home to him.

Only to land back in hospital 2 months later with a severe ankle fracture, and then a month later with a diagnosis of type one diabetes. By this point I'd reached a complete low in my life. I didn't want to go out. I'd got residual problems left from the spinal cord injury that meant leaving the house was awkward. My blood sugars were far from stable, and my lungs weren't much better. But Barney hadn't left my side.

My mum had been speaking to a friend whose daughter was training with Darwin's and she suggested it could be for me. 

It took me a few weeks to mull it over but I finally got round to sending an email. I was so worried as by this point Barney was 2 and a half and due to my ill health hadn't really done much training with him. How, I thought, could he possibly be an assistance dog. Yes, he's perfect to me, but could he really be good enough to go into shops and cafes? He's a dog that loves food!

Well, I received an email back from Julie explaining all about Darwin's and that Barney would need to do some extra training but yes potentially he could be considered to try the assistance dog training programme if she could come and meet us.

For the first time in years, I felt the very faintest glimmer of hope. That someone may be able to help me.

We began general dog training classes for a while first. But then a few months later we officially began our first Darwin's dog training lessons. And I have never felt happier. It brought me a new focus.

On the outside I can look like I'm coping with the world. Many people are very surprised when they find out I struggle so severely with anxiety as apparently, I don't look like I do!

As Barney progressed through his training and learnt to do more and more to help me, I found I became more and more reliant on him. I couldn't understand how I'd lived before having a trained dog! But that was the thing, I hadn't been living.

Barney does all sorts of things for me, and the list is still growing. He will block people (despite not being a huge dog) to prevent them from coming into my personal space. Something that has been so valuable in these present times! He uses his body to apply deep pressure therapy (DPT) when I become overwhelmed and sometimes freeze. He will either jump up on me if I'm sitting in my wheelchair, or sit on my feet and lick my hands to bring me back round.

Barney also fetches things for me and picks things up I've dropped. This was something that took him ages to learn to do, he didn't have that natural instinct most dogs have to pick things up and return them to me. But once he realised this was what I was asking him to do there was no stopping him. He'll now trot off and fetch a particular pair of shoes or slippers for me. Or my splint that I wear to enable me to walk without crutches. He can tidy his own toys away from the garden which helps when I'm tired.

He is also learning to open and close doors and gates. But knows to only do this on command.

Another vital task Barney does for me is to stay with me if I fall. He will not move away from me, unless I give him a command to go and find a specific person who he knows by name, and he'll go and bring them back to me. He will do this if I fall at home, and go and find my mum.

Barney is also trained to find exits for me. If I need to leave a place because I'm becoming overwhelmed, or excessively tired and can't think how to get out logically, by telling Barney a command he will find the exit for me. 

Barney became fully qualified last year (2020) as my assistance dog. It was one of the best moments of my life. I felt like I was getting my life back. We go literally everywhere together now. During the pandemic, hospitals have asked people to go to appointments alone. People would have looked at me and thought, as an adult, surely I could manage alone, but often I froze, or panicked and didn't say what I needed to say just because I wanted to get out as fast as possible. Now I take Barney with me and I find my heart rate is slower, I'm able to concentrate on what is being said, and ask questions I need to. Barney will lie quietly under my chair unless he senses I need him, in which case he sits next to me so I can stroke his ears, which he knows calms me down. He's opened so many doors for me. I find I talk to so many more people through Barney. Before I used to keep my head down. Now its up and I make eye contact. Even on a bad day I have to get up and walk Barney, and by the end of the walk I'm smiling because he's done something cheeky or made me speak to someone I wouldn't have spoken to, without having him. He really has saved my life. He is my very best friend and I could not be without him now, and not only that, he’s saved our family from breaking down.

Put his working jacket on and he knows he behaves and doesn't play with the roll of tissue paper that has just been dropped on the hospital floor and rolled within an inch of his nose... But take that jacket off and I find him chasing a toilet roll down the stairs believing he's the Andrex puppy, or just devouring a box of tissues on my bed because he has a little sniffle. He's the best dog in the world to me!

Ella’s Story

Ella our rescue puppy came to us from Romania at the end of August 2020 and has totally changed my life. As 2020 began I could see the pandemic ahead of us, the government said phrases I'd seen years before during my military service, a Civil Defence Plan was unfurling in front of me and it was the one that scared me the most with an invisible enemy I was unable to fight. My already fragile mental health took a turn for the worse and I had to seek help again. Veterans UK arranged weekly counselling sessions and as lockdown 1 began I started the trauma of counselling. Over the months that followed my mental health improved and with the support of my counsellor and GP I decided to look for a puppy to eventually train as my Assistance Dog. 

A friend recommended Noah's Ark Pastures New Adoptions who rescue dogs from Romania. The lady I spoke to was lovely and after a virtual home check and several discussions, I was sent details of 6 puppies that the rescuers felt would be a good fit. We looked through the details as a family, not easy with both our girls living away but after many online discussions and video calls we decided on Ella, mostly because I liked her eyes and hubby wanted a "fluffy one".

We even kept the name the rescuers had given her as she reminded me of Ella Fitzgerald and I'm a fan.
As our 4 month old fur baby left Romania I forwarded her travel updates to our daughters to keep them all involved, we couldn't travel at all but Ella, her siblings and all the other dogs crossed 5 countries in 3 days. Our youngest daughter headed home from university by empty train and we collected her and Ella from Peterborough.
We all fell in love with her from the moment she was placed into my arms and snuggled straight into my chest. Our eldest daughter had to wait for her introductions but loves her puppy video calls and virtual dog walks.

Since that day Ella has changed my life so much, I used to exercise early in the morning so I wouldn't encounter people fearing judgements about my disability and unusual running/hobbling Style. Now I walk during the day and chat to other dog walkers we meet around the village. We have even started running together when people will see me.

As a disabled person, I endure extreme pain and fatigue every day so just getting up and moving is tough. The gym and pool closures plus the cancellation of all my disability sports training and competitions due to Coronavirus has been very tough and my mobility has decreased without my daily & weekly physio sessions. Without my Invictus sports recovery programme and the support of my coaches and team mates I was struggling both physically and mentally, I felt lost and alone, but Ella lifted my mood and gave me a new focus. She made me laugh even on days when all I wanted to do was cry.

We started our Assistance Dog training with Gemgray and Darwin Dogs who specialise in dogs for mental health disabilities in October. We also joined Gemgray's Hoopers dog agility class which was hilarious. Training my dog was actually teaching me how to have fun again and I didn't need my fake smile because I had a real one. 

Despite the pain and fatigue, we started taking longer and longer walks around the village and now walk over 100 miles a month. We have completed several challenges with Help for Heroes and Virtual Charity Walks. We actually came 3rd in Help for Heroes Eastern region behind 2 cyclists which really gave me a huge boost.

As we learn more together Ella is helping me to cope with practical problems like helping me to balance, pick things up or even walk, but the huge difference she has made to my mental health has been astounding. Friends say I smile and laugh more and they know it's not fake. When I have a panic attack or just feel really low, Ella is there beside me and she knows. Dog trainers call the bond between owner and dog "the magic", it's the things they can't train. Ella has stopped me crossing in front of cars and got me home when I've felt unwell, she walks me around broken kerbs and pot holes and even balances me on slippery muddy trails. Above all this, she is my friend and companion and she has brought so much joy at such a dark time. 

Recently I started what I thought would be a tough part of Ella's Assistance Dog Training but a vital part for me going forward, the gym and my sports training. Much to my surprise Ella barked at my noisy rowing machine a few times then sat down on her rug as instructed. The day after that she went straight to her rug and laid down to watch me exhausting myself. The intention is that she will eventually be able to accompany me to the gym, training camps and competitions and help me to get up from the machine when I'm completely spent. Indoor rowing is the only sport I know where they issue competitors with sick bags, so having Ella help me up will be hugely beneficial.

We are already learning how to run/hobble together so hopefully Ella can help me improve my athletics performance, maybe I won't be last in every race one day because she loves to run.

Hopefully Ella will be as comfortable with my powerlifting, though she seems to find archery rather boring, bless her.

So how has Ella been my best Covid Companion? She's saved my life. Suicide doesn't even enter my mind now. She makes me laugh on the darkest days and I'm no longer terrified of the future as I know she will be there to help me and together we will make a great team. I couldn't do it without her.