I wanted to share my journey about my Assistance Dog, but
how it’s different when you have an unique cat. Some of you may already know
about my amazing cat who was recently in the news due to winning an award. She
is able to detect my collapse episodes which she has had no training for this.
Here is the link to what was written at the time - https://www.edp24.co.uk/news/lunar-the-cat-who-helps-owner-ali-coles-from-watton-when-she-suffers-blackouts-is-nominated-for-a-national-award-1-5058614
And
They are slightly different as one is written as
nomination, and one when we won the award. This shows what an amazing cat my
dog lives with.
I was on the list for
under three years for an assistance dog, I applied in June 2015 to Canine
Partners for an Assistance Dog, after a long hunt around all the different
assistant dog companies. All the others refused me on multiple grounds which
luckily Canine Partners oversaw, as they liked a challenge; and saw it as
finding a way to create an ability around the disability.
I got invited to their centre for a training day where
they would assess if they could meet my needs; rather than agreeing from just
off a piece of paper. I don’t want to go into too much detail about it all, I’d
rather say about how my assistance dog and my cat have bonded which we thought
wouldn’t happen so soon.
Originally I should of gone September/October but I was
hospitalised, so it got postponed until mid-November. Canine Partners were
great with the delay though - as they are working with chronically ill people every
day; so they were very reasonable about the delay.
After the day at the centre I saw the Dog Occupational
Therapist (DOT) who came out to my home, this was to check that the
surroundings the dog will live in is habitable. The home, garden, any hazards
to myself which could put the dog in danger even like a step with me using a
wheelchair; and my cat at current time anything that we could do to make them
transition easier.
Together we also had to go to the chosen most used
exercise area for the dog, along with a long list of other things.
After many long months of waiting, they then believed
they had the ideal dog to my situation and needs; and they had found the dog
that would benefit from living with me.
We met for a day for a matching day in November 2017 to
see if the dog (Black Labrador x Retriever) would be ok with my cat (chubby and
grumpy), and how the dog and myself would connect. This was the turning point.
You spend two and half years on the waiting list, not
knowing when you will get the call to be told your potential match has been
found; then if that match is good when you meet you get six weeks to wait
typically. I got two, from meeting the dog till training to get your head
around it.
It’s almost like being pregnant, you wait all your life
for your baby; you keep dreaming one day it will happen. It’s the longest pregnancy
for an assistance dog you don’t know when the birth will be though, whereas
mothers going into labour at least they know the longest will be nine months;
maybe a couple days over. I could have had three babies in that time if I was
pregnant and just train them to level of an assistance dog, although I’m sure
they wouldn’t qualify and wouldn’t be allowed. Although there wouldn’t be any
of this problem with businesses saying the dog isn’t allowed when the dog is
allowed by law as it’s an assistance dog.
To help my cat settle with the dog more I ended up
getting a natural plug in diffuser. I would highly recommend this.
https://www.medicanimal.com/Pet-Remedy-Natural-Diffuser-Plug/p/I9106277?_fp1=ppc&_fp2=277849834&_fp3=1213860958744278&_fp4=I0009879-mauk&utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=F3D+-+MA+-+Shopping+-+Generics+%25255BUK+-+EN%25255D+ACQ-PLA-BHV&utm_term=4579465930408112&utm_content=F3D+-+MA+-+Shopping+-+Dog+-+Dog+Training+%252526+Behaviour+%25255BUK%25255D+ACQ&gclid=CNHBlNjgk9gCFQX7GwodlZUCeQ&gclsrc=ds
The first 48 hours has a strong scent of herbs and oils,
but I do have heightened senses so it maybe isn’t as bad. But it actually was a
calming smell even to me.
I plugged it in a week before the dog arrived so the cat
had some benefit in her system and the house was well scented for when the dog
arrived; although the dog is fine with cats as he displayed brilliantly when I
met him, and showed he can touch noses gently with a strange cat on a pathway
and didn’t even frighten the cat.
For the dog and cat it made them be a lot more relaxed,
only a small amount of tension on first couple of days. The cat is one to stand
her ground if she felt the dog was doing wrong being in her home, so I think
the plug in helped to some degree.
I felt my cat needed this especially as she may of felt
pushed out from a dog being bought in, due to her being especially close to me
as previously mentioned caused by my condition. But I make time to be with both
of them at separate times, and then also together at their comfortable
distances at the early days; and this seems to work for us and they accept it
this way.
Throughout the training we learnt the similar things that
all partnerships do, some bits were tailor-made to our partnership and will be
throughout ours, but the dogs can pull doors open, undress, do light switches,
un/load washing machine, pull shoes off, pick up dropped items, and bring
happiness to your life; among so much more.
Once the intense training finished I got an Aftercare
worker allocated to us, who will come out to my home to visit my dog and myself
to see how we both getting on – this will remain happening until my dog
retires. At first these visits were weekly then slowly got less until there was
a couple months in-between. And that continued for the first year.
The first month or so can be tricky, the dog has been
uprooted from all he has ever known, its ‘puppy home’ to now it’s ‘working
home’. He has lost all his familiar surroundings/smells and people he has ever
known from the ‘puppy home’ and been placed in a ‘working home’ and expected to
get on with it. So it’s expected that there would be some teething problems; from
both sides.
Yes is adorable to have an assistance dog and it will
make my life so much easier and more
safe when I go out; but will be a test to start with; and a time where I could
need support from my loved ones too.
Not long into the partnership, we noticed the cat and the
dog are getting on now, but we have to keep a happy balance every day to check
it’s keeping that way due to the uprooted nature; luckily I have the aftercare
team on hand if things do erupt.
I will have so much more freedom and independence having
an assistance dog, I’m in my 30’s I shouldn’t be reliant on others despite
having chronic health conditions. This was 2018 I got him, and yet there isn’t
the support out there unless a dog is willing to help as they don’t make the
judgment.
So thank you to the wonderful people all involved in my
dogs care up to this point and throughout his partnership now. Without them
none of this would be possible. For just my partnership alone it costs them
£20,000 to train, feed, house, vet bills, insure, toys etc.
And that’s the ones that don’t go missing sadly, there
have a been a few rare cases where they have been out training on ‘free runs’
and gone missing with massive searches with no trace.
And also the ones that ‘fail’ their training.
I kept this quiet until our partnership was a good month
in, rather the day after he arrived home, but no doubt the news travels fast
due to training at my door, on my road and in my town; and assistance dogs in
my area are uncommon. It’s a shame privacy isn’t a thing anymore, especially
when you need it when training up an assistance dog; and needing that time to
put your effort and energy into your bond and making sure things are correct.
Since those early days of having my dog home, I have
trained him to strip the bed, get items from fridge from another room and put
his used breakfast items in the sink; among other tasks.
We are constantly training, some things take longer than
others.
He enjoys training, you just have to watch his wiggle and
his tail to see that.
It’s not all work for him though, he gets loads of off
lead time playing with local dogs – or playdates with other canine partners
further away. And he even goes out and does amazing days out like sailing – yes
he has been in the sailing boat, and was amazing.
In 2019 we plan to do many more amazing things, task
wise, but also days like the sailing, so keep a check on our accounts:
I have been so honoured to be placed with a dog from
Canine Partners and work with them through the training course; just the same
as the Cats Protection to know them over the years and the support they have
given. I now have a wonderful household which works in harmony.
Those two and half years were well worth waiting for, and
that time was spent preparing my cat with reading dog stories too.
