It’s a rare breed that doesn’t love dogs, but for anyone in need of swaying, or for those who want their heart to burst with even more puppy love, the dogs at Dogs for Good will not disappoint…
Dogs for Good are a charity finding innovative ways to train dogs so that they can enrich and improve the lives and communities that need them most. They offer assistance dogs to adults and children with a range of disabilities, including specialist autism-trained dogs. They also offer community dogs who work with specialist handlers within communities and schools and a family dog programme, where a team will help you get the most out of your relationship with your dog.
The assistance dogs for both adults and children with physical disabilities allow for much greater independence. They can also achieve some pretty amazing feats, being able to open and close doors, pressing a pedestrian crossing button and retrieving dropped items. They can even load and empty a washing machine!
For Linda, one of the many people Dogs for Good have helped, getting her dog, Obi, was life-changing for her, her husband, Ricky, and her family. She hadn’t been able to go out alone for 17 years, and had relied on family members and friends for everything from days out to bringing home some extra milk. Now Linda goes out by herself every single day, to walk Obi and even to do the Christmas shopping!
“When we got Obi, it’s a case now of instead of me ringing up saying ‘Ricky, can you get some milk on the way home from work?’ it’s ‘Ricky, what do we need from the shop?” – Linda.
As well as the physical assistance, dogs like Obi also provide companionship, which Dogs for Good finds especially helpful with the children it supports.
Dogs for Good also train and work with dogs specifically trained to help autistic children. If possible, these dogs are even more incredible, helping with introducing routines, interrupting repetitive behaviour and helping a child with autism cope with unfamiliar surroundings.
The charity is recruiting new dogs to train as many as possible, with 70 new recruits this year that you can meet on their website.
I don’t know about dogs, these sound more like superheroes!
To help support Dogs for Good and the amazing work they are doing, please visit their website.
