Aura Spring 2012

Spring 2012 Edition 212

SUPPORT DOGS 21, Jessops RiversideBrightside LaneSheffieldS9 2RXRegistered charity no. 1088281Company Limited by guarantee 0419062

www.support-dogs.org.uk

E-mail: [email protected]

Tel: 0114 261 7800

Fax: 0114 2617 555

Designed byRedDog Printing [email protected]

Chairman’s reportW

elcome to our twentieth anniversary edition of Aura.

Our celebrations for this landmark year began with a guest reception at Crufts, where we were delighted to welcome representatives from the Kennel Club, officials from our AD (UK) partner organisations and supporters from across the UK. We would like to extend a huge thank you to Darren Marriott & Steve Bennett from RedDog Printing for all the hard work they put into making the stand look so professional and with their help in dismantling. We are very excited to announce the qualification of our first dual purpose partnership; trained between ourselves and Guide Dogs. Hetty a guiding seizure alert dog qualified last autumn working with Tony Brown-Griffin one of our long term clients. Hetty is the first dog to be trained to both guide a blind person and give advanced warning to their epileptic seizures, certainly in the UK and we believe in the world!On Saturday 25th August our enthusiastic brave staff & volunteer team take to the skies for the

charities first ever tandem skydive! They are hoping to raise £12,000 to put a puppy through its initial training. Let’s all get behind them and help them to reach their target. Cheques can be sent to head office marked Skydive team on the back or sponsor online: http://www.justgiving.com/supportdogs-skydive we would like to wish them the best of luck and will be cheering from the safety of the ground!We hope you enjoy this edition and we would love to see you at the celebratory events we have planned for this summer

Kym Stretton

ObituaryJim Ibberson

Support Dogs is saddened by the recent death of Jim Ibberson. Jim and his wife Brenda were foster carers who re-homed one of their charges Guinness when he was retired early due to a medical condition and although they did not foster any more dogs they continued to support the charity. Guinness still lives with Brenda and our thoughts are with her & her family.

We are looking for people living in the Sheffield and surrounding areas that are at home during the day to become puppy walkers. We are also looking for foster carers; people local to our training centre in Sheffield, to look after our dogs whilst they are in training. The dog will be with them in the evenings and weekends and will range from 8 months to 3 years old. If you are interested in either volunteering position please contact us at the training centre on 0114 261 7800 or email us [email protected]

WantedDo you have any unwanted birthday/Christmas presents that are lurking in the back of your cupboards? We would love to have them to use in our Tomobola/raffle at this years Gala. Please drop in to the training centre.

Text DonationTo donate, text 70070 and put the message SUPD01 then amount ie SUPD01£10 to donate £10Donors must have bill payers permission and be aged 16years + Donation plus your standard text message rate.

Puppy Walker appeal

Spring 2012 Edition 21 3

Introducing...I would like to introduce myself as the new fundraiser at Support Dogs. I have over fourteen

years experience working in the charity sector and I am very excited about the challenges

ahead guiding Support Dogs fundraising to the next level.

I have plans to start development in several new areas over the next twelve to eighteen

months. We have already made huge in roads into developing trust fundraising with nearly

two thousand appeals letters being sent out over the past month; these include a number of

substantial applications.

Our student volunteer programme is well underway, with a number of exciting projects in

the pipeline and plans for the immediate future. These include the development of a new

Corporate Partnership and Sponsorship programme and a drive to significantly increase

income from legacy and in memoriam funding.

Change will not happen overnight but with the support of all our trustees, staff, volunteers, clients

and supporters I am very confident annual income will exceed the million pound target within 3 years and that in no time we

will be in a position to officially launch our Capital Appeal for a new building.

Essi is proving to be a very laid back character who is generally not fazed by things that puppies

might find daunting such as noisy dustbin lorries. Essi loves to play with the grandchildren in the

family and his favourite games are hide and seek and fetching toys especially his pheasant. This

winters cold snap meant that Essi has been introduced to snow for the first time and was very

excited, although at first he didn’t know what to do and tried to eat it (after all he is a Lab cross

so will try to eat anything!).

Essi has been given the nickname of ‘Essi the pesty’ as he will try to run off with people’s

shoes and enjoys a spot of gardening; he can often be found pulling leaves off the plants in the

garden! Essi still has his morning cuddles from his socialiser, Joyce Sydserff, after breakfast he

will sit on her knee and they will watch the news together.

Joyce has taken Essi to the water fountain in Sheffield where he was intrigued and tried to

chase after and catch the water. He has also been to the fair and took the colourful lights and music in his stride. He enjoys

trips to Marks & Spencer’s cafe where he gets lots of attention from members of the public.

Araminta is coming along in leaps and bounds, literally! She is ever such a confident little

girl and is not scared of anything or anyone for that matter. She has already visited the

training centre to meet some of the older dogs and she takes great joy in bossing them

about. Similar to her brother, Araminta loves to play with her squeaky green duck toy

which keeps her occupied for hours and is also becoming green pawed by helping with

the gardening.

Araminta is now sleeping through the night much to the relief of her puppy socialiser,

Sue Fletcher. She is also house trained and has learned quickly not to toilet whilst on

her lead which is a requirement for them as fully grown working dogs.

Araminta has been on lots of adventures with Sue including visiting the coffee shop and has

also been to the pictures three times where she settles beautifully to watch a good film. After a hard day Araminta loves

nothing more than to snuggle up somewhere warm, her favourite spots being next to the radiator or on Sue’s knee.

Araminta

Essi

Jane Foster


M y journey with Support Dogs

started in 1994; I qualified

with my first dog Rupert

the following year, a humble rescue

collie mix who put me back in control

of my life and enabled my husband

to continue with his full-time career.

Life was good, Rupert’s reliable alerts

resulted in a decrease in both types of

seizure, which in turn meant I was able

to reduce some of my anti-epileptic

medications and had less cluster

seizures requiring hospital stays. I no

longer suffered from unpredictable falls

and the resulting injuries.

Due to Rupert’s increasing age,

I trained with Cal a rescue German

Shepherd in 2001, who retired five

years later due to severe noise

sensitivity induced by fireworks. Ajay

was my successor dog, a beautiful

Golden retriever. Not long after I had

qualified with Ajay I had retinal bleeding

and was diagnosed with Retinal

Dystrophy resulting in me becoming

registered Blind. Ajay received some

extra training so that he could identify

changes of level for me, stopping at

steps and kerbs and make sure that he

was leaving big enough gaps to guide

me past obstacles. During his working

life we went through some very

difficult times; the worst one being my

daughter Mimi’s major cardiac surgery

at just six days old. Ajay was present

at her birth and stayed with me at the

hospital for three weeks; sleeping by

her cot side keeping us both safe. He

had only worked for four and a half

years when he was diagnosed with

severe hip dysplasia. I was devastated

and for days felt numb. As he was

too unwell to accompany me I had to

do a number of school runs without

him, with only my white cane to help

me, I returned home in tears as I was

suddenly confronted by overhanging

trees, wheelie bins, cars parked on

pavements; all things that had always

been there but that Ajay had safely

taken me past.

As my sight has continued to

deteriorate it was decided that I now

needed a dog that could do more than

the Seizure work. After talking with

my vet about how long Ajay would

be okay to work, I rang head office

to discuss what would happen next.

It was obvious that I needed not only

a seizure alert dog but also a guide

dog, but this had never been done.

Support Dogs contacted Guide Dogs

and the wheels were put into motion.

As a Guide Dog client I had to undergo

all the normal application processes,

until the last stage, when Guide Dogs

and Support Dogs got together to fill in

a new dual purpose application form.

I was told that I could wait eighteen

months or so for the right dog to be

found. Ajay’s workload by this time had

been reduced and I suddenly realised

how much I had taken him for granted.

It was early the following year that

I received a phone call from Katie,

Seizure Alert trainer, to say that they

had found two dogs that had the

potential to fulfil both roles and I was

invited along for a test drive! I headed

North with Ajay on our long journey

from Kent, feeling a little apprehensive,

a little excited and rather sad that this

could be among the last of our long

trips to Sheffield together. Arriving at

the centre I met Ian Armstrong (Guide

Dog Mobility Instructor) and following

much talking (or so it seemed!) we

headed off for the first of a number of

walks with two Golden retrievers cross

Labs, Hetty & Forrest. Over the next

few days we went for walks, played,

talked and generally got to know

each other, with the safety of always

having Ajay around to alert. It became

apparent after just two days that Hetty

was going to be my first choice, which

quite amazed Katie as I had asked for

a blonde male! I returned home whilst

Hetty finished her guide dog training

and started her Support Dog training,

we met up again around Easter time

and despite me worrying about how

small she was compared to Ajay, I felt

confident that she was the dog for me.

We commenced training on the

3rd of May, initially with a week of

seizure alert training. Although I had

been worried that I would not have

enough seizures, this was not to be

the case and Hetty saw plenty! Having

only experience one seizure, Hetty

started to recognise the signs from the

second one onwards and was within

days giving a signal, waving her paw,

which would have been great if I could

have seen it. So work had to be done

to enable her to alert me and it was

quickly changed into her touching my

leg or nudging me. Once I had the

beginnings of an alert, we started to

introduce her harness as it was very

Guiding to an alert...


Qualifiers Tony Brown-Griffin & Hetty

Dual Purpose Guide & Seizure Alert Dog

Lab x GoldenGuide Dogs

Kent

Tricia Bretton & Tokai. Disability Assistance

DogLabrador cross

Pet dogWetherby

Win Whittingham & Poppy

Sub Disability Assistance Dog

Black Lab DonatedSomerset

Reverend Jane Sharpe & Forster

Disability Assistance Dog

Terrier Mix Rescue dog

Sheffield

Dianne & Adam Chandley & Grant, Autism Assistance

DogLab x Golden

Career change Guide Dogs

Northamptonshire

important that she would alert whilst

guiding. The next two weeks passed

in a blur of many harness walks

interspaced by seizures! It was hard

sending her back to her boarders each

night but both of us were exhausted

and needed the time to re-charge

our batteries. By the end of the three

weeks I had a twenty minute alert

for my major seizures and a fourteen

minute alert on my absences.

We returned home with Katie to

introduce Hetty to the rest of the

family and set up the CCTV which was

installed to monitor Hettys responses

around my seizures. Katie left for

home and we were able to settle for

the weekend, before Ian came down

to teach us our local routes. At the

end of May we were thrilled and a little

daunted when Hetty qualified as a

Guide Dog and Ian left us to fly solo!

Having had trainers or carers’s with

me to help for the last six weeks, I

suddenly felt very nervous and realised

that there was no-one to watch over

us if we made mistakes, we were on

our own!

Over the following months we got to

know each other and I learned to trust

her in both her guiding and alerting.

Her alerts lengthened to 42 minutes

for a major and 15 for a minor seizure.

We returned to Sheffield in August,

Ian coming down to London to see

Hetty’s route across London and up to

Sheffield, she didn’t put a paw wrong

and he was thrilled with her progress.

October saw her graduate as a

Support Dog, the first Guide & Seizure

Alert dog in the UK.

Hetty has fitted in perfectly with

the family; my husband and both girls

adore her, as does our little cat, who

has never previously liked dogs! Hetty

is quite the little Princess, bossing

around both our other dogs (Ajay my

retired boy and Merlin my daughters

Autism Assistance dog).

I was so devastated when Ajay

had to prematurely retire; he was and

still is my ‘Golden Boy’, a wonderful

dog that always gave more than was

asked of him. I think the trainers were

a little worried too, trying to find a

successor for such a wonderful dog,

but we needn’t have worried, Hetty is

a phenomenal little dog with a heart

of gold. I’d like to thank everyone

involved in the process of taking Hetty

from small puppy to my wonderful

assistance dog and giving me the

freedom to live my life!

You can follow the antics of Hetty on twitter @Hetty_BG

Congratulations to our Newly qualified teams.

Entries are listed as: name of client, name of dog, breed, source

of dog and where they live.

Foster carer

speaker fundraiser


Simon - Speaker & FundraiserSimon & his wife Claire, who live in Somerset, have supported the charity since 2004. Simon came across our website, where he applied to be a guest speaker/fundraiser and he hasn’t looked back since! Simon and Claire trained their dog Fudge themselves for Simons needs. Support Dogs did offer to train her but Simon respectfully declined saying, “I want all the money I raise to make a difference to someone less fortunate than myself.” Simon was aged just 42, when he had a near fatal accident whilst riding his Police patrol motorcycle. The accident left him paralysed from the waist down and he spent fifteen months at Salisbury Spinal Unit. Simon was determined that his injuries would not beat him. He said: “I felt so humbled by the whole experience, the fantastic care and help I received during this time, I felt in my heart that some way, somehow I wanted to give something back in return.”Simon is a dedicated speaker and fundraiser and has raised in excess of £35,000 over the years.

VolunteeringVolunteers come from all walks of life and for all kinds of reasons; happily giving their time to help the charity in many different roles:

David –Foster-carerMy wife Anne and I became volunteer Foster Carers eleven years ago and were soon involved in fundraising and talks to a variety of groups.We were “vetted” by Paula, one of the trainers who visited the house to check the garden was secure and we were suitable applicants. A few hours later Paula telephoned to say they had a dog called Archie for us, could she bring him the next day!Archie turned out to be a fabulous dog who we took to our hearts immediately. He stayed for eleven months and became a Seizure Alert Dog, looking after a lady who had many seizures each day.We have had a mixture of dogs for varying amounts of time, of various breeds including crossbreeds and all shapes and sizes. They have provided us with many wonderful moments of fun and great friendship and have gone on to transform the lives of people with epilepsy and mobility problems.I am hoping that there will be many more dogs I can socialise, enjoy the company of and play my part in giving people a quality of life they could not enjoy without a Support Dog.

Support Dogs like most other charities relies heavily on the support and hard work of volunteers, giving their time and expertise freely. If you are interested in volunteering in any capacity (you must be aged 18 years plus) please contact head office on 0114 261 7800In particular we are looking for people living in the Sheffield and surrounding areas that are at home during the day to become puppy walkers. We are also looking for foster carers; people local to our training centre in Sheffield, to look after our dogs whilst they are in training. The dog will be with them in the evenings and weekends and will range from 8 months to 3 years old. If you are interested in either volunteering position please contact us at the training centre on 0114 261 7800 or email us [email protected]

Foster carer

speaker fundraiser


Sarah - Office volunteerI first developed an interest in Support Dogs in 2008 when my mum Tracey started working there as an instructor. I was fascinated by the work they do and how that work changes the lives of the clients. I started volunteering in 2010 and have found it a valuable and rewarding experience, learning new skills and making new friends. I now volunteer on a regular basis one to two days per week offering support to the admin and fundraising departments. In addition to my role within the office, I am looking forward to taking part in my first sponsored parachute jump. (You can sponsor our team by following this link!) http://www.justgiving.com/supportdogs-skydive I would urge anyone who has some extra time in their busy lives to consider volunteering as Support Dogs are doing a fantastic job and need your help to fulfil a variety of roles!

Janel - TrusteeI was one of the original Trustees when Support Dogs was set up in 1992 - at that time I worked for Pedigree Petfoods who gave a bit of money to help get the charity going and, as I have an interest in dog training and behaviour, I was asked if I would become a Trustee, which I gladly did. I stepped down after 10 years since juggling two young children and a full-time job with lots of travel was getting a bit tricky, but I remained a member of Support Dogs and followed their progress with interest.I now work for a charity (I am Chief Executive of Cheshire Wildlife Trust) and my sons are teenagers and I felt I had the experience and time to help out. I offered to become a Trustee again and was welcomed into the Support Dogs “family”. Support Dogs makes such a difference to peoples’ lives. I am proud to be able to do something to help Support Dogs develop and grow and it’s inspiring to work alongside other volunteers, staff and clients and see firsthand the difference that Support Dogs makes. There are certain skills that we still need within the Trustee board, so if you’re interested then contact Kym via head office, our Chair of Trustees for more information.

Chris - Knight in oily overalls!Little did Chris know that when his wife Tracey started working as a Support Dog instructor that he would be called in to keep the charities vehicles on the road! With understanding and supportive employers, Trustseal Ltd of Whittwell near Worksop, Chris attends to all sorts of emergencies and maintenance, from punctures to stolen catalytic converters. Chris gets called out at short notice and in all weathers to rescue stranded trainers & sometimes the dogs and never complains. Trustseal Ltd have also kindly loaned us their large van for transportation of goods to Crufts for the last two years.

office volunteeroffice volunteer

trusteeTrustee

MechanicMechanic


Crufts 2012Crufts saw the beginning of our twentieth anniversary celebrations. Support dogs has entered a new era to a brighter more productive future, helping more people gain the independence that our special dogs bring.For the first time since the charity has attended Crufts we had a bespoke stand which highlighted the work of the charity and gave us a smart professional look. Made of modular units we will be able to use the stand at other indoor events over the coming years maintaining a professional image but also saving us money as we will no longer have to hire plain stand equipment.

The Pinfolds and Jasper

Celebrating 20 years of Sup

port Dogs

Terry Willet & Lucy

Steve & Jackie Harfield

A BIG thank you to

everyone who came

along to celebrate our

20th Anniversary


Sharon, Michelle, Tracey and Nicki

Someone's being greedy!

Dougal & Nell

Baxter & Murdoch

Wendy Martin & Oscar

Rita & Nell

We would like to extend a huge thank you to Hilton Birmingham Metropole for kindly giving us discounted accommodation for the duration of Crufts week. We thoroughly enjoyed our stay and everyone commented on their staff’s professional and friendly manner. It made life so much less stressful for our staff, clients and dogs not having to travel off site following long days, not to mention the cost.

Rose Jennings & Laura Perry with Kym Stretton & Baxter


With Ollie of course!I first met Ollie three and a half

years ago at his breeders when

he was just twelve weeks old.

Their children had named him Santa’s

Little Helper and that’s just what he

has grown up to be, my helper. As

a puppy he was not bothered about

anything, he was good natured and

just wanted to please everyone.

My daughter and son work for guide

dogs and they suggested that I

contacted Support Dogs. I have been

disabled for about 10 years and my

problems were not getting any better.

My husband Robert was my full time

carer.

My daughter helped me fill in the

application forms when Ollie was eight

months old. At around eleven months

Ollie was in a road accident and

broke bones in his back feet. It was a

very worrying time but he was soon

on the mend. We had been doing

well at his obedience training, when

Support Dogs contacted me for his

first assessment which he passed with

no problems. When he hit puberty,

he changed and became very dog

aware. By his next assessment he was

turned down, I was so upset. However

before we left, the trainers gave me a

life line and arranged for a local dog

psychologist Sara Eldrett to take a look

at him. Sara assessed him and realised

that his dog distraction was due to

not knowing how to engage with other

dogs. She worked with us for six

months twice a week free of charge

and soon Ollie was back on track. Fran

came to Lincoln to review him and was

very pleased with his improvement

and so we were given the dates for

his training to commence. At the

end of his six weeks he passed his

assessment and came away with his

training jacket. It was now imperative

that I did all the handling of Ollie and

my husband took a back seat. Ollie

was still having some dog distraction

issues but I was by now able to work

with him and he learned to control

himself. We spent a further six months

perfecting his skills and working

towards qualification.

Before Ollie I had become depressed

and fed up with the constant pain

I was getting. I also felt guilty that

Robert had to spend so much time

looking after my needs without a

break. All of a sudden I was now

responsible for another creature and

having to look after all his needs;

feeding, grooming, training and

exercising him. There were occasions

that I found this very difficult but I could

not say that I didn’t feel like doing it

as that was not an option. I started

taking Ollie out trotting beside my

wheelchair, people who had not seen

me before came up to talk and they

were surprised when I said I had lived

in the village for 15 years, previously

I had only left home in a car, or they

spoke to Robert as they were used to

seeing him out with Ollie. Due to Ollie’s

dog distraction I would seek out all the

houses that had dogs and walk him

passed several times until he could

do it without losing focus. If we saw a

dog on a lead and he reacted I would

turn around and follow them until he

was walking correctly without any

nonsense. They must have thought I

was a dog stalker but eventually Ollie

got better and better, we made time

for him to run around with other dogs

just to play. I now found that I was

no longer depressed and I was doing

more and meeting new people. We

were even going to Lunch club in the

village hall every two weeks as it was

good experience for Ollie in his jacket.

Everyone in the village got to know

Ollie. He accompanied me everywhere

including hospital, in fact he was let

into x-ray and Robert had to stay

outside in the waiting area! Everyone

would make such a fuss of Ollie as

he stood out being an Airedale. He

passed his three day assessment and

graduated in August 2011.


E verybody has heard the

same message every year

about dogs overheating in

the summer. So why is this still

such a massive killer of dogs in

the UK?

Heat stroke can take as little as

15 minutes to take hold of a dog.

It can cause permanent organ

damage which sadly in most

cases will result in death.

Prevention really is better

than the cure. Here are some

preventative measures & some

ideas to keep your dog cool over

the summer months.

There is no excuse for it – do

not leave your dog in the car.

Even if it is parked in shade or

the weather is overcast. Cars

act as a greenhouse, trapping all

heat inside the car. On hot days

they are on average 10⁰c hotter

than the outside temperature,

even with the windows cracked.

Temperatures on our own Gala

day held on the 3rd of July last

year reached reported highs of

27⁰c so we could assume that it

would have been well over 30⁰c in

stroke you must remove the dog

from the source of heat, get to

the vet a.s.a.p., and they should

be cooled by using cool wet

towels/rags. Offer the dog water,

but do not force them to drink.

On really hot days at our centre

in Sheffield, training times

are altered so that we are not

working the dogs around the

peak temperature of midday.

We were also lucky to have

air con installed in our offices

– something that paid off last

summer. We have a paddling

pool which is set up for the dogs

to play in (we recommend the

hard plastic shell type ones, not

the inflatable easy-to-pop ones!).

The Labradors love it, but the

terrier types need a bit more

convincing!

HotDogs

My life has changed beyond belief.

Ollie helps me with everyday tasks

such as getting undressed, picking

up things from the floor, fetching the

remote control that’s when we can get

it out of Roberts hand and fetching the

telephone. The telephone however

took a little battering and was dribbled

on until it gave up and stopped ringing.

Ollie enjoys his tasks; he will even go

and pick something up just to get my

attention. Tracey, his trainer calls it

going self employed. Robert is now

happy to go out for a break knowing

Ollie is here. Ollie has been taught to

brace to help me if I have a fall, he will

also brace on the stairs to steady me.

He can open all the doors a little too

well sometimes; he closes them with a

bang! He can even operate the paddle

switch for the electronic doors at the

bank to the amazement of the staff.

He has become a celebrity in Sleaford,

everyone knows Ollie. It takes me

twice as long to do the shopping with

people stopping to talk and asking

how he is. They have all taken an

interest in his training and everyone

was pleased when he graduated. He

has become a good ambassador for

Support Dogs bringing awareness of

the great work they do. For me he has

become my constant companion, I

still have a lot of pain but I can now

manage it better. I have recently joined

the craft and art class in the village to

try something new, with Ollie of course!

cars. Thousands of dogs die each

year in cars due to the heat, it

simply is not worth the risk.

Dogs cannot sweat to keep

themselves cool (only apart from

on their paws – which are not

sufficient to cool them) keep your

dog out the sun – don’t let them

sunbathe!

Make sure clean water is available

at all times for your dog.

Avoid vigorous exercise on hot

days.

Signs of overheating include

vigorous panting, dark red

gums, thick saliva, unwilling or

unable to get up and dizziness /

disorientation. If you suspect heat

12 Spring 2012 Edition 21

Our son Adam is nine years old. He is a bubbly boy with lots of energy, plenty to say

for himself and he has bottomless blue eyes. Adam loves animals, he loves trains, he loves cake and he loves the outdoors. As a toddler he was very engaged in activities he chose – pushing trains up and down the windowsill, running through the fields, splashing in the swimming pool, etc. but by nearly two years old still had no speech. We pushed for him to see a specialist but his high level of intellect in some areas made the NHS reluctant to refer him. At his two year check there was still no speech and as he approached three we insisted that he saw a paediatrician. He was then referred on for assessment involving two days at a child development centre, where they asked us to leave all the strategies we used to help Adam communicate at the door so they could see what he actually could say and understand for himself. For me that day was the lowest point, watching his desperate attempts to get us to help and seeing how hard his life

was without us communicating for him, but it was worth it - two weeks later he was diagnosed with Autism and we were able to start getting help for him.The optimism, pride and also sadness we felt were all consuming, but those feelings were empowering and so was his courage. We fought to get professionals to help with his speech, his communication, his hand strength, his sensory integration, whilst trying to develop his social skills. Adam responded well, his speech came steadily and is quite clear now. It is becoming more relevant now too. We were always encouraged to use his interests to motivate and engage him and animals were a great motivator for Adam. He showed empathy towards them and knew instinctively to be gentle and calm around them. We took him to Riding for the Disabled and the volunteers there were incredibly moved by the relationship he had with the ponies.When we saw an Autism Assistance Dog on Crufts in 2006 we knew it could be the one tangible thing we could offer Adam

to help him with the one thing that is so easy to overlook – his self-esteem. I read a quote recently that said “The problem with putting a square peg in a round hole is not that the hammering is too hard, but that you are destroying the peg.” So true, as a parent you are so focussed on helping speech, reading, play skills, etc. but you have to balance it so carefully to protect their self-esteem.And so our incredible journey with Support Dogs began. We were too far away to be in the first group of accepted applicants, but in November 2010 when Michelle rang to say they were ready to proceed with our application we were on cloud nine! Michelle brought Brinny and Grant to visit our three children and the following week the call came to say we had got through to the next stage and also…..that they were hoping to match Adam with Grant. Once my husband had peeled me off the ceiling we sat down to work it all out, how I could attend the training, how Adam would manage with me being away, etc. Peter took the two weeks off work so I could travel up and down without worrying about getting back for the school runs. Adam really struggled with it but we knew we just had to get through those two weeks to get the other side. Charlie and Beatrice were full of encouragement and excitement. The training was tiring but fun and I can’t deny, it was nice to do something that felt like a challenge and an achievement that didn’t involve small children! The support from my family, friends and from

Grant’ed a better life!


Michelle was amazing. Grant was gorgeous to work with and easy to relate to – he reminds us of our older son Charlie, who works on the same principles – if you feed him well, give him plenty of exercise, play with him and make sure he gets enough rest he will do anything for you and make you laugh all day.Grant was a superstar throughout the training. We won’t mention dog distraction-nobody is perfect and as long as he is doing his best that all we can ask – and he is! He had some extra “steam train training!” Adam is a huge steam train fan and it was important that Grant wasn’t spooked by whistles or horns and he wasn’t. Just before I took him home on the last day, we made a quick visit to Butterley to take him on a steam train one more time. Hearing the Thomas the Tank Engine music and looking at Grant by my feet and knowing the challenge that lay ahead, I was completely overwhelmed.When Grant was first home we played lots of games. We didn’t push the attachment and had a couple of blips where, as a prolific bolter, Adam suddenly saw Grant as someone who was about to stifle his freedom so we had to back right off and take things slowly. It didn’t take long though – a couple of weeks of only attaching him to the coupling rod (wrist strap!) to go to places he really loved and he soon got the hang of it. He can open the wrist strap himself but seldom does – he doesn’t want to be away from Grant for long. Now, ten months later they have shared trips to model trains, steam galas, the seaside, the hospital, for an MRI scan of Adam’s ear,

to school, into shops…so many places. Adam is currently being educated at home and this means I have to take him everywhere I go and without Grant this just wouldn’t be possible. Only yesterday my car had a flat tyre so we had to take it to be repaired. There was a lot of waiting and lots of people talking to me and we got through it without a hitch. We just couldn’t have done that before. Adam loves walking and walking with Grant gives us a great opportunity to wind down and relax. His bolting is almost a thing of the past, as he doesn’t seem to want to get away any more. If Adam lies down during a meltdown or if he becomes over anxious, Grant lies with him and rests his head on Adam’s tummy – quite the most moving thing I have ever seen. Most important of all, Adam’s self-esteem is climbing. He tells me daily that he is a super-boy. Six stone of self-esteem came his way in the form of a Labrador Retriever – Mother Nature has all the answers really.

It’s not all fun and games – sometimes it is hard to resist the temptation to push them closer together, when letting their bond grow naturally is the only way. Sometimes walking, working and grooming a dog is another thing on top of an exhausting day, but it’s worth it a million times over. When we are out Grant helps Adam in so many ways as a companion, to stop him bolting, as a sensory “teddy” to stroke, as a welcome distraction from waiting and also as a visual clue to other people that Adam is a child who deserves their respect and admiration, not criticism or judgement. People admire Grant and Adam wherever we go now and we are so proud of them both.Having a child with autism has exposed us to so many amazing experiences, ideas and things that we would have missed out on in life if we weren’t living with autism. Grant is certainly the greatest of those. Thank you Support dogs, thank you Grant and thank you Adam.

Two for the Torch!!!Two of our own have been selected as official bearers of the Olympic Flame on its way to London this summer!Director of Operations Rita Howson, and Lynn Ratcliffe, of Cheadle in the Manchester area, have both been chosen.Rita will carry the flame in the Thrybergh area of Rotherham on Tuesday 26th June, while Lynn, who has severe epilepsy, takes the torch on Wednesday 30th May in Macclesfield accompanied by her alert dog Dougal.

Route details will be placed on the website, Facebook and Twitter when we receive them.


Award Ceremony Our annual award ceremony was

held at the Shiregreen community

centre and it was lovely to see how

many staff, clients & volunteers

from all over the UK attended.

The day began with a brief speech

by our Chairman Kym Stretton

who welcomed Sue Richardson,

Guide dogs Acting National Puppy

Walking Manager who gave a

presentation on the types of

breeds currently used by them.

Lee Stanway the Additional Needs

Manager from Guide Dogs gave

a talk on dual trained assistance

dogs, in light of the recent

qualification of our first Guiding

Seizure Alert dog trained between

Guide Dogs and ourselves.

Following questions, very much

interest was shown in the selection

of puppies for this very special

role and Jackie Boone a Puppy

Walking Supervisor was able to

step up and explain the processes

involved. She had bought with her

trainee Curly coat cross Oz who

was 12 weeks old. All speakers

were very well received and gave

everyone an excellent insight

into the new initiative of AD(UK)

charities working together.

Lunch followed which gave

everyone a little time to catch up

on the last year and meet new

people.

We were delighted that Glenis

Willmott MEP, the Labour Member

of the European Parliament for

the East Midlands and Labour’s

Leader in Europe, found time in her

busy schedule to come along and

present our graduates with their

certificates. It was lovely to see the

new partnerships graduate.

Kym presented the following

awards:

Fundraisers of the year award

Steve French and Andrea Jack were presented with the Foster carer of the year award; they have had six long term challenging dogs, without breaks, and will often take dogs in emergencies with little or no notice! Steve attends our weekly obedience group and both can often be found fundraising at supermarket collections.

Client Fundraiser of the Year award was presented to Brenda Cupitt. Brenda enjoys baking very good cakes and holds coffee mornings and attends various events where she sells them.

The John Fisher Award in Special recognition of Services to the Charity was presented to Simon & Claire Anderson & their three very special fundraising dogs, Fudge, Miele & Olga. They have raised in excess of £35,000 since 2004. Retiree Fudge handed her fundraising jacket to youngster Olga to continue in her paw steps. (Sadly Fudge passed away this January.)

was presented to Sue Wales and

Julie Pickering for taking on their

amazing sponsored challenge

of walking from Lands End to

John O’Groats. They started their

fantastic journey on the 10th

April and walked in stages for an

outstanding 62 days to reach their

final target of John O’Groats.

The John Fisher Award in Special

recognition of Services to the

Charity was presented to Simon

& Claire Anderson & their three

very special fundraising dogs,

Fudge, Miele & Olga. They have

raised in excess of £35,000 since

2004. Retiree Fudge handed her

fundraising jacket to youngster

Olga to continue in her paw steps.

(Sadly Fudge passed away this

January.)

Young Volunteers Award was

presented to brothers’ Thomas

& Joseph Hudson who help all

our trainers with the socialization

& training of our dogs with the

unpredictability and noise of young

children.

Following a moment of

remembrance by Reverend Jane

Sharpe, everyone enjoyed a

game of doggy bingo, with Mary

Bellamy’s fundraising dog Jess

picking the winning numbers!

Everyone had a thoroughly

enjoyable day and we look forward

to 2012 Awards & Graduations in

November.


Recent Donations:• A & S Lass Charities Ltd donated £100.00• Barbara Saunders, family and friends donated £600 to us for the autism programme• Wigan Alsatian & All Breeds Training Club shared money they raised between 3 charities donating £200.00• Hope Valley Young Farmers Club donated £1350 following a talk from Jane Sharpe • Patricia Vandeerboom, her friends and family raised £425 and donated it to the Seizure Alert programme in memory of her daughter Nichola, who died of a seizure at 17years old. • Thorpe Lea held a sponsored Zumba class and raised £170 for the Seizure Alert programme for Epilepsy• £489.80 was raised by year 9 pupils at Parrenthorn High School.• For Yoo, online card company, donated £184.00 from the sale of Christmas cards.

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Sunday 27th May 2012Sheffield Half Marathon Urgently need volunteers for the following days (a) Thursday 29th March (10am min 2 hrs) – Mail out to all runners(b) Wednesday 23rd May (10am min 2 hrs) – Filling Goody Bags(c) Sunday 27th May – Various Stadium Tasks and Route Tasks on Event Day(d) Monday 28th May – Post Race activities (clear up and unpack goody bags)(e) Thursday 31st May – Post Race activities (mail out certificates and results)Anyone wishing to help on the Sheffield Half Marathon must complete a Volunteer Task, Sheffield Half Marathon form for more information ring the training centre 0114 261 7800

Monday 11th June Clairvoyant Evening being held at;Shiregreen Community CentreSicey Avenue,Sheffield S5 0RNDoors open at 7pm to start at 7:30pm.Tickets cost £8.00 which includes a drink plus pie and peas. For ticket information please contact our training centre.

Forthcoming events Saturday 23rd JuneClient User Group MeetingOpen to clients, their families & carers only 10am-12Annual General Meeting: 12.30-13.30Fundraising Meeting 14.00-16.00

Sunday 1st JulySupport Dogs Gala DayFree entry 10.30 – 4.30, Hillsborough Park, Sheffield.

Sat 29th September20th Anniversary Black Tie Ballat Hilton Hotel, Sheffield

new specialist dog ad:Layout 1 22/11/2010 10:01 Page 1

Documents

Aura Spring 2012