Canine Partners

Natalie has Cerebral Palsy. She was matched with canine partner Faye, a black Labrador, in July 2013. This is her story.

I was born with cerebral palsy and when I was diagnosed the doctors told my parents there was no hope for me. They said I would never walk, talk or sit up, but when I was younger my parents did six hours of therapy with me a day and with support from family members, friends and students at Southport College, I soon started to crawl and after that I soon took my first step. Even now, I still go to therapy to keep mobile.

Despite my parents being told I wouldn’t be able to sit any of my exams with my peers, I gained 10 GCSE’s and went onto mainstream college. During my teenager years I developed Scoliosis, my curve was so bad it was starting to affect my organs and I had to undergo 12 hours of spinal surgery to straighten it. The operation was a success but it has left me with limited mobility and I am unable to bend, take my shoes and socks off or pick things up off of the floor.

Applying to Canine Partners

I applied to Canine Partners as I was relying on people all the time and I could see my independence slipping away from me in front of my eyes.  I was so excited to hear that I had been accepted and couldn’t wait for the call to say that I had been matched. A year later the call finally came and I met Faye for the first time. I instantly fell in love with her and from day one I felt we had a special connection. She was gorgeous and I couldn’t wait to do my two week residential training course.

During the training course at the charity’s Midlands Training Centre, Faye and I became even closer to each other. Since meeting her, the world around me has become brighter every day. At the end of each day of training we would lie on the floor together and as I talked to her she would gaze into my eyes. I felt she was heaven-sent. It was on the first day of the course that I found out I had been accepted to do a master’s degree.

Life with Faye

The time since I have had Faye has been the best of my life. I wake up to a fresh new day not having to think about how I will cope and not worrying about dropping things because I know Faye is always by my side ready to help me. If I drop something she immediately gets it and gives it back to me.

Faye helps me get ready in the mornings and brings me my phone and keys without me having to ask her. She gets the washing out of the machine, she gets the post for me and she picks things up from the floor. She also helps take my shoes and socks off, flushes the toilet, puts things in the bin and gets money out of the cash machine after I’ve entered my pin number. During my master’s degree she gave me confidence to travel alone on the train to university each day and gave my parents piece of mind that I was being taken care of.

Whilst I was out one day I was standing up doing something and I lost my balance. I knew I was going to fall. Before I knew it Faye ran in front of me and put all her weight on me to push me back so that I was up right.  Faye hasn’t been trained to do to this, but she knew exactly what do to!

Since graduating I have done lots of work experience with the BBC and in CBBC.  I have also worked for CBeebies. I am now working for the BBC as a Social Media Researcher and it is thanks to Faye for giving me the confidence to do this.

One of my greatest achievements since having Faye was passing my driving test for the first time.  This has given me so much independence and freedom and it’s the one thing my parents really didn’t think I would ever do.  So now I drive myself the 45 miles into work at MediaCity. It also means that Faye and I go on road trips together for big long walks and we go and visit friends.

Before having Faye I was very shy and self-conscious. I would worry about what other people thought of me, but now Faye has completely changed that. People actually talk to me now, rather than talking about me or just ignoring me. She has also given me the confidence to want to move out of my parent’s house because I know I won’t be alone. I love Faye so much. She has completely turned my life around. She’s given me my life back and she’s given me something to look forward to.

I could not possibly imagine being without Faye. She has simply changed my life. All I can say is thank you Canine Partners for giving me my life back. Faye helps me and I love caring for her – together we are a real team.

It is thanks to Faye that I have a life and a future to look forward to I wake up every morning with a smile on my face, knowing my best friend is always there by my side ready to help no matter what!  But without Canine Partners, I wouldn’t have Faye.