I have lived with MS since the age of 22 and I have used a powered wheelchair since I was about 31. I live with constant pain and fatigue. I have had many work guises over the years, starting as a dancer, then a beauty therapist and more recently as an advocate for disabled people and as a bereavement counsellor. My working life has changed a lot because of this horrible disease.

During 2012 I met another lady with MS who had a canine partner and I was very interested in applying for one myself but felt it was not the right time. My condition continued to deteriorate. I found I was no longer able to work in the same way as I had and was becoming more dependent on my husband to do things for me.

It was during September 2014 that I decided I would apply for a canine partner. I was fortunate to be able to go for an assessment after about four months, and about six months later I had the call to say I had been matched with Babs. I was so excited, but also very nervous. I felt as though I was expecting another child and had all the anxieties that go with that.

The time came for our two-week residential course at Heyshott. Ian dropped me off and returned home leaving me to it – scary stuff. The facilities at Heyshott are fabulous and I felt very well looked after by all the staff. There were two other people on the course at the same time as me and we became firm friends. We also had two amazing trainers – Els and Julia.

The fortnight was extremely challenging and tiring but our days were set out to make sure all of our needs were completely supported and met. We were also very well fed and all ended up putting on weight with Wendy’s fantastic cooking.

It was not until we got home that our partnership was able to move to a level of understanding, trust and love. Within six months our partnership was truly sealed and we settled into our usual routines.

Babs and I start the day with her asking to go out. Then she has her breakfast, returning her bowl to me when she has finished. When I am ready to get dressed I ask her to open drawers for me and fetch my clothes. She brings them to me reasonably willingly but will look to see if there is a treat at the end of it.

When we are ready for the day, she removes my slippers and fetches my shoes. We usually go off for a morning walk in the park where she can run free and have fun with other dogs. She loves chasing her ball and having a dip in the boating lake. When we return home we will have a rest and I might do some work on the computer.

If it’s laundry day she will help me sort my laundry by dropping items into piles, then she will pass the clothes to me to carry down to the washing machine. She hasn’t quite mastered putting the clothes into the machine but she is fantastic at getting them out when the washing is done. She will open the machine door and passed me the items one by one which I then put into a wheeled basket to take outside to put on the line. If I drop any clothes or pegs she is happy to pick them up for me.

During the day she will help me by retrieving items that I constantly drop and she will fetch the post. Babs will open and close doors for me and I have taught her to take the milk out of the fridge when I want a cup of tea.

If we go to the shops she is also able to get milk out of the big crates and pass me items from the lower shelves that I am unable to reach. Unfortunately, neither of us can reach items on the top shelves, so unless Canine Partners introduce giraffe partners I shall sometimes have to continue to ask for help from other people!

I work as a bereavement counsellor once or twice a week and I will take Babs on the bus to meet clients. I find she brings a calming focus to the meetings, particularly with new clients. Babs also comes to church with me on Sundays where she settles quietly at the back of the pews. Wherever we go she is always noticed and fallen in love with. I find people always say hello to her before they even look at me, so we know who’s the most beautiful there then, don’t we?

In the evenings I am usually very tired and in a lot of pain so will usually be found laying on the settee soon after 6pm. Babs remains on duty though, as she is asked to fetch me the TV remote, my phone, my book and my blanket. She gets on a bit of a roll at this point and will continue looking for items to bring to me in the fervent hope that she will continue to receive treats – she does make me laugh!

When it’s bedtime, I take her out for her last toilet stop and then I go up in my lift. When I need her I call her and Babs comes up to help me pull off my clothes, slippers and socks. Her last tasks of the day are passing me my cable to charge my wheelchair and flicking my legs up onto the bed. She has her last treat and then goes off to bed.

Babs has made a very big difference in my life. Although she is a big responsibility, she provides me with so much support by doing seemingly small tasks. I have been given back my independence. I no longer have to ask my husband to do everything for me and I have a real purpose in life again. I get out practically every day, as I have to take Babs out for a walk and I enjoy passing the day with lots of different people. I am also exercising – a much needed bonus!

Thank you Canine Partners so much for partnering me with Babs and for all of your ongoing support. We really appreciate what you have done for us.

Up until the age of 17 my life was pretty much as near to fairytale as you could imagine.  I had a fantastic family life, fantastic friends, I was excelling academically and in extra curricular activities and was looking forward to a promising career as a doctor.

It all changed in the Easter of my A level year when I was struck down by a mysterious virus from which I never recovered.  It was at that point in my life that I had no idea that things were going to get worse and how much worse they could get.  I went from being able to run around, ski, play netball for the school, dance, sing, do drama, study for ‘A’ levels and much more, to a person who was just exhausted by walking.  I then became unable to walk for any length of time, leaving the house was too much, so I mainly was at home all the time on the sofa or my bed getting up to go to the loo only.

Later I was diagnosed with Lupus and now with Ehlers-Danlos, as well as many accompanying autoimmune and connective tissue conditions.

So what did I do?  I just cracked on in the way I have always dealt with life.  I pushed and pushed as hard as I could and achieved the highest grades, although it turns out this doesn’t necessarily work for your health.

In 2013 I was admitted into intensive care with uncontrollable seizures, was on a breathing tube and was in hospital for about 2.5 months trying to break the cycle of these seizures.  I have been in a wheelchair ever since, but my life has steadily improved.  The length of time I can sit up with my legs down has increased and the length of time I have to lie horizontally has decreased.

My life is very different to that of pre-2005 and to that of someone of my age, 29.  Despite the doctors maltreatment of me, despite mis-diagnoses, despite the loss of so many things in my life including my studies, my career, my dreams (I wanted to be a doctor abroad delivering babies), certain members of my family, some friends, a boyfriend, my body, my appearance, my clothes and much more I will manage to maintain hope.

I found out about Canine Partners quite a few years before I actually applied.  One of my cousins works in London and saw them at an event, so suggested I looked into it further especially as I have always been an animal lover.  However, in between filling in my application form and actually being assessed for a canine partner, I just wasn’t well enough to pursue it so a couple of years went by.

When I was well enough to get assessed and passed the application process, I was buzzing.  Then when I actually got the call to say I had been potentially matched with a dog I was desperate to know its name, breed, sex, colour etc – it really felt like a blind date!  When I met Ethan for the first time we had a blast.  Then we all sat down to discuss if we were suitably matched and whether training could go ahead.

For the first time in my life I was actually sensible and I realized that a two-week residential training course wasn’t something I really wasn’t up to.  Despite having this absolutely gorgeous dog in front of me, I managed to try not to get too attached to him or too excited so I could go home and have a serious discussion with myself, my family and my carers – totally unlike me!  I think I sensed what a momentous and also incredibly responsible and energy consuming task having a canine partner would be.

I then received a call from the Canine Partners team asking me what I was thinking.  Miraculously, before I could say that my stamina and health wouldn’t allow me to do the residential, they said they had come up with a solution!  Trainers, Els and Clare had figured out that they could dedicate more time with me over the first week of the residential.  I would then go home for a week while the others on the course completed it, then the trainers would come up and do the second week with me at home.

I couldn’t believe my luck and it truly felt like a miracle – Ethan and I were going to be partners.  I burst into tears, squealed and jumped around on the sofa in the realization that my new partner for life was Ethan!

I found the week of on site training really hard.  It wasn’t that Ells or Clare weren’t fantastic; it was just that my body lets me down and is weak.   We realised after the first day that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the schedule, so they adapted it for me and I managed to some training each day for the whole week.

Ethan stayed behind until the trainers could bring him up and when I knew he was arriving I felt like my true love was coming home!  It was another tough week and I didn’t realise it would take so much out of me, but now we are a year on we have our own routine and are in sync with one another.

Life with Ethan means I can be in my bedroom on my own without anyone else there for back up.  He can pass my water bottle, fetch the phone and call for help if needed.  Previously someone had to be with me 24/7 but now the carers just have to be in the house and I can have some independence.  He’s learned to do things that I didn’t think were ever possible.  He paid for my meal contactlessly last night, whose dog pays for their meal!!  If I suddenly get a big bill for dog food and treats, I’ll know he’s been swiping away!

Ethan has given me a positive outlook about being in a wheelchair.  I am a smiley person and people would often come and ask me about my bright pink wheelchair but also my health.  Now the first thing they ask about is Ethan and what he does for me, which I love – my poor health and disability are not the focus of the attention.

For the future we are going from strength to strength.  I see us outside the flat without any other companions but each other.  We have been able to do so much and achieve so much already and we are only a year in.  Task work wise Ethan has learnt all the skills required to get all his certificates, but it is not all about that.  It is about seeing new ways everyday where we can implement methods whereby Ethan and I can do more and more on our own.  In another five years, who knows what we will have achieved together.

We have a very close relationship and are in tune with one another’s needs.  He is beginning to identify when my normal movements turn into the jerky movements of a seizure.  So hopefully soon he will be able to alert people that I am having a seizure without me having to ask for help.

Ethan doesn’t feel like my pet or even my carer, he feels like my partner.  I genuinely can’t be thankful enough for all the people in Ethan’s life who have worked hard to create this fantastic dog.  I am so grateful to Canine Partners, an amazing charity that has quite literally changed my life.

I was in the Royal Navy and Royal Marines and have been around the world with them so many times. I have also been a boxer, a swimmer, a runner and footballer, and have completed the first ever Royal British Legion London to Paris cycle ride in three days.

However, in March 2005 I had an accident, and broke my back in three places. I had gone to prune a tree, knowing the warnings given to those who work with ladders. I tied my ladder to the tree and placed wedges under the feet of the ladder. After checking with a couple of good tugs, I climbed up and started the work.  I heard a loud crack and saw the main branch holding the top of the ladder had broken.  It started to move and when the rope became taut it whiplashed me off the ladder and I hit the ground, doing a huge amount of damage to my spine.

My life turned upside down after that. It was very much like a ship rolling over. Dealing with it all was a monster struggle: at the general hospital I was told that it was far too dangerous to operate on the spine so after three attempts I was passed on to the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital to see if they could sort it out in July 2005. Eventually the spinal specialist took the decision to do a full thoracic spinal operation, which lasted eight hours and ended up with me on a ventilator.

For five days a machine breathed for me, then I got pneumonia and MRSA. Eventually I was allowed home with rods, nuts and bolts inside of me.  My wife was always there for me, even when my moods of blackness caused by post-traumatic stress disorder crossed over me. For someone who was once so fit and active I struggled to cope with the new lifestyle. My moods were becoming blacker and blacker. I hated myself so much and hated what I was doing to my wife who was my carer and I ached, but I still wanted to do things.

Then I heard about Canine Partners. I read about the charity and thought “This is just what I need so much. I saw them demonstrate at a local event, and this proved to me that if I was lucky enough to have one of their dogs, then my life would change dramatically.

I knew there were many hurdles to get over before you even got on a course, but there was no harm in trying. I had a home assessment and I felt like someone adopting a new child. The excitement was rolling through both my wife and I. We were bubbling with happiness. Then I went to the training centre to meet some dogs, and was given Guy in the afternoon. The trainer asked me to put on his jacket, and to her horror Guy stood up and lay his legs and paws over my shoulders and proceeded to lick me almost to death. My specs went flying, and I had to tell the trainer that I hadn’t been able to put his jacket on as all I could see was this huge pink tongue! Guy had chosen me. When I was asked if I would be prepared to accept Guy as my dog, I replied as quickly as I could, “A huge yes please.”

So we set out on our new life together and my whole world utterly changed. It became summer in my life. For the first few months we learned about each other every day making the partnership so strong. I learned to read Guy’s body language and know when he needed to rest. It was not hard and the huge, deep pleasure I got was so immense. In truth I felt like I was back in the forces again with him watching my back and I in turn watching his. We were bonding and becoming a very strong partnership.

Guy pulls me up in the morning, and from that moment on our partnership really starts. I get his breakfast then he will get anything I ask, like socks and underwear. His favourite task is taking clothes out of the washing machine, although he likes the smaller items better than the huge sheets and duvet covers!  Socks are his most favourite item to remove.

He is so keen to learn new things, and since I have had him he has now learned to remove all my clothes. He also takes the card and receipt out of a cash machine, and the money too. He enjoys the supermarket and getting items for me and paying. At meal times he will bring me his bowl and we let him relax after he has had his food. At night he will undress me and that is the time of day when we have lots of cuddles and fuss, and he likes nothing better than to lie on his back on the bed between my wife and I with his front paws tucked up.

As time has gone on our partnership has grown. I have so many wonderful moments when he has made my day by what he does, and he needs no asking – he does a task of his own accord. I can never express the utter happiness I get working with him. I have been known at odd times to shed a tear of happiness. Best of all he knows when PTSD has creeped in – his licks are different and his eyes are glued on me until it passes. He has shown so much love to me and also to my wife. He has worked out that I am his partner, but he knows my wife is also a special person in his life and he makes sure she gets special Guy ways of showing his thanks to her.

Play time has become one of things that will live with me for eternity. Guy adores swimming. I love to watch him swim like a seal and glide so gently. He lowers his head under the water to see what is on the bottom. To watch him show such delight at being on a beach is such a joy as he runs one way then another. You can feel his joy and delight at being a dog doing his own thing for a while. Then the pride he shows when out walking in his official jacket, tail right up, body proud, a spring in each step. The pride oozes out of him. So many people have said that his eyes never ever leave mine.

I could write for ever about this partnership that has developed; from a human being who was becoming every day more and more depressed trying to deal with life in general, then enter one very special dog and life becomes the most wonderful thing to enjoy each and every day. I have been married for 47 years to a most wonderful woman, and now I have a magic dog who has made me the happiest I can be. So with my wife and Guy, I wake up in the morning and it is magic time.  My wife has been able to return to being a wife again because of Guy’s wonderful duties to me. He has given her another chance to fulfill her own potential at craft class, because she knows Guy is there with me, and all is safe and well.

I will finish by talking about how Guy gets up in the night and pulls back a bit of my duvet to sniff my arm simply because he wants to know how his partner is feeling. So I give him a cuddle and kiss on his head and tell him to lie down, which he does right away.

I have gone from winter to a golden summer, all thanks to this magic dog, my canine partner.

I was born with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome type 3 but I wasn’t diagnosed until the age of 17.

Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome is a genetic disease caused by a defect in the body’s production of collagen, leading to weak connective tissues and joint sockets that are shallower than normal. I experience frequent dislocations and subluxations (partial dislocations) in the majority of my joints, which causes chronic pain and inadequate time passes between the injuries for proper healing. Other symptoms include problems with my skin, hair, digestion, eyes, low blood pressure and sensory responses. My treatment regime includes medication, tailored physiotherapy, bracing and lifestyle changes including a strict diet. I’ve previously had surgery and a feeding tube.

In hindsight I displayed multiple indicators as a young child, some of which I was taken to doctors for, but they were dismissed as quirks or part of growth. I experienced health problems from the age of 10, and was diagnosed with ME, although this is now thought to have been a misdiagnosis.

While I missed multiple years of school due to my health problems I eventually returned to full-time education. I certainly had no restrictions on my future and believed with careful management there was no reason I couldn’t live with relative good health and physical capabilities.

I experienced a rapid and significant decline in my health just after my 17^th birthday, and had to leave sixth form just a week after starting my 2^nd year. I was surprisingly calm when diagnosed because I was relieved to know what was wrong and thought it would mean I could start to get better. However it quickly became apparent I couldn’t expect a significant recovery. The idea of a wheelchair was considered, but working with an amazing physiotherapist I’ve managed to remain ambulant.

However, I was dependent on other people for basic tasks and had no sense of independence or value. My life was dominated by fear. I was unable to be left at home for long periods of time, or go out alone, because of the risk of falls and injuries, and then being unable to get help. Like a lot of disabled people I’ve also experienced discrimination and ignorance which is incredibly frightening when you are so vulnerable.

I experienced constant pain and every movement was restricted to try and prevent joint dislocations. I couldn’t do the most basic tasks for myself, and when I tried I struggled or failed completely.

I was frustrated with what I saw as my own failures. I was depressed because of my limitations. I was also afraid of my own body, the outside world and what my future would be.

I discovered Canine Partners after reading an article about American assistance dogs and searching online for similar charities in the UK. Canine Partners was the first link I clicked. Although I already knew about other forms of working dog, I had never imagined there could be a dog for someone like me.

I was on the waiting list for a Canine Partner for two and half years. It was excruciating and sometimes I thought it would never happen. In that time I began my degree with The Open University, and worked on maintaining my physiotherapy and building up my stamina. Tia was the light at the end of my tunnel and my motivation throughout.

Every time a letter came through the door with Canine Partners’ stamp or the phone rang my heart stopped, and on the rare occasions I went out the first thing I did upon returning home was to check if the answer machine was flashing.

When advanced trainer Sara Trott called to say there was a potential match I could hardly hear her over the sound of my heart beating. I was lucky to find a few photos of Tia online. Although young in all of them, she was beautiful and I wondered if she was really the dog Sara had been referring too. It felt almost too good to be true.

I met Tia in the main arena at the training centre in Heyshott. The first thing I noticed was her unusual fox-red colour and her beautiful face and long dainty legs. She gave me kisses all over my face which seemed a good sign! When she laid at my feet while we were talking her paw just ever so slightly touched my shoe, so I was trying to remain still so she wouldn’t move it. She still does that all the time.

The two-week on-site training course was tiring and emotionally turbulent. I cried for the first time in years, but I also smiled more than I had in years as well. There is so much information to absorb and so many new experiences in a short space of time but Sara and Tia were excellent teachers. I tried to remind myself to stop and notice all the details and moments because I knew in the future these would be memories I would treasure forever.

Coming home felt like the beginning of a new way of life. It was exciting but scary. Suddenly she was entirely my responsibility and I just wanted to do everything correctly. I was so worried I would do something wrong. The first few nights I kept flashing a torch on her just to check she was OK.

Tia settled in with my family well. Within a week everyone was saying it felt like she had been with us for ages. In the beginning both Tia and I were learning about each other and adapting to our new routine. Now we are in sync.

The change in my health in the time I have had her is outstanding. My stamina has consistently improved far beyond what I had ever dared hope I would ever achieve again. I feel safe and brave, and we are starting to explore new opportunities. Even in appearance the change has been so extreme family and friends are constantly commenting on it.

Tia is trained to pick things up, fetch certain items on command including my walking stick and our house phones, both on command and when they ring. She can do the laundry, fetch someone in an emergency, get the post, open and close doors, cupboards, the fridge and drawers, flick switches including the disabled buttons for doors when out, remove shoes and undo Velcro, pull sleeves and drag a basket. She is currently learning to carry a small basket and take items to another person.

She utilises most of these tasks day-to-day. She manages all the household washing and isn’t happy if anyone tries to take that job! I no longer have to bend when I drop things or to take off shoes, which has minimised what were frequent injuries to my ribs. My fingers no longer trouble me as much because she does activities for me that previously put a lot of pressure on them. It all really adds up to make a huge physical difference.

If I didn’t have Tia then my life would revert back to how it was before I got her, but the big difference would be I would have no hope of it changing.

Tia and I really are perfectly matched. We both have a strong perfectionist streak and she loves to learn.

She is very sensitive to mood and health. When I wake up in the morning she already knows if I am going to have a bad day, before I’m even conscious enough to know, and she changes her behaviour accordingly. If someone is hurt or upset she immediately senses it.

Tia has such a joy of life. When she does a task well or gets home after working she wriggles with joy. Her capacity for love and caring is endless and she has a confidence in herself and will make her feelings known. For example, when someone else loaded the washing machine she unloaded it behind them!

She takes working very seriously, like she knows how important her job is. This makes me utterly confident in our teamwork when we’re out, I now always feel safe with Tia looking after me.

I couldn’t pick a single favourite thing about Tia, but the confidence and fearlessness she gives me is empowering.

While I am completing my degree I am focused on building my health and stamina up to a point where I would be capable of working and/or entering postgraduate education. Before it was a dream, but now with Tia it is an achievable reality.

When I was in Year 10 of secondary school, not long before my 15th birthday, I realised that I wasn’t feeling very well. I had been very tired and my body had not felt as it used to. My mum took me to the doctors and they said that I probably had a mild virus and a lot of exam stress. I’m a high achiever – I was studying three different languages at GCSE while participating in the Duke of Edinburgh award, playing rugby and occasionally netball and rounders.

Since the age of two my goal was to become a veterinarian and serve in the army and I was on track academically and physically to achieve this. However, it was in the spring of Year 10 that everything started to become problematical with my health. I was practicing hurdles and felt something go wrong in my hips and from here it all went downhill very swiftly. By that autumn, I was bedbound, unable to do anything except feed myself with one hand and a plastic spoon. I couldn’t even take my beloved dog, a working cocker spaniel which I had raised from a puppy, out for a walk. The doctors still believed that this was exam stress as I was entering the year where I should have been sitting my GCSEs.

Despite this, and with only a few hours tutoring provided from school, I managed to gain five A-C grades at GCSE. I had been in intensive rehabilitation so by the time I was 18 I had some more movement however I was still heavily dependent on my parents for care. I started to be able to take my dog out for walks in our local park but I soon stopped due to one incident that affected me quite dramatically. I dropped my phone while walking my dog and a group of teenage boys picked it up and taunted me with it, saying many things which were offensive and inappropriate, mostly about my disability. After that I stopped going out unless I had someone with me. I managed to get in to a college to do A Levels and while I was there I found out that I have hypermobility Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. This is a hereditary connective tissue disorder which means there’s a problem with my collagen. The easiest way to describe it is my collagen is like over chewed chewing gum, super stretchy and bends in all ways.

My mum had brought up the subject of an assistance dog a few times but I dismissed it as I didn’t think I was disabled enough. But after meeting an established partnership at Crufts in Birmingham I decided to apply to Canine Partners. The lady I met explained what her canine partner did and what a dog could do for me. I didn’t feel that I was worthy or disabled enough for a dog but the lady helped me realise that I was and that a dog could be an amazing thing.

When I went for my onsite training, I was so nervous. I wanted to do everything right and was thankful for my previous experience with dogs. I had so much fun and there are moments that I’ll remember for the rest of my life although it was also very tiring. The support I received during the course was incredible and we still feel much supported by the advanced trainers and aftercare staff.

It’s incredibly hard being a teenager and young adult with a disability, especially when you have to adapt to a different type of normal. I had to rely on my parents for everything at a time when I should have been moving away which was difficult and felt wrong. Having Lindy at my side this feeling has eased as she gives me independence in ways I never imagined possible. I can never repay the charity for what they have given to me.

Lindy has changed my life in ways that I couldn’t possibly have imagined. She can get help if I’ve fallen but it’s the small everyday tasks that have made the difference. One of the tasks that she does is picking up my mobile phone – I’m always dropping it and I can drop it when I’m handed it (repeatedly). My parents found this annoying and after hundredth time they would sigh and tut but Lindy loves it and sees it as a game even when I drop it again and again and again. This has also lead to me taking her out for walks by myself as I know she’s there and will be able to help me if needed – just knowing she is a hands width away makes me feel confident. I can just touch her lead when I am feeling stressed or unwell and knowing she is there beside me calms me. My family feel like they don’t have to worry about me anymore which makes me feel like less of a burden.

Lindy loves to go out and help get the shopping but her favourite part is when we get home and she can unpack the shopping. If for some reason, Mum leaves a bag around with shopping in it Lindy decides it is not appropriate and unloads it for her, bringing the items one by one to me. I then send her to Mum with the items and she is so appreciative of Lindy’s help! Lindy also loves to help take off my shoes and socks after we have been out – she considers it to be her job and automatically starts to do it now. If I decide to wear only socks around the house, I’ll look up and Lindy will be standing at my feet with her mouth touching my toes waiting for when she can take them off. Lindy can get help if I’ve fallen and she will then lie down beside me which is an enormous comfort. The next task I want to train her to do is to get a bottle of water from the fridge for me.

One of Lindy’s tasks is to take my cardigans, jackets and coats off. Since Lindy has been doing this my shoulder subluxations and dislocations have gone down by about seventy percent which is incredible as this has meant less pain for me.

With Lindy by my side I have been able to go out by myself again, we go to the local shops and park and are well known at the pub! The freedom she has given me is unexplainable, I’ll never get my old life back but I wouldn’t want to – she’s giving me a whole new life.

Lindy is my best friend, she has unwavering loyalty and is helping me pick up the pieces of my life and create a new one. Without her I feel as if a piece of me is missing. Lindy is a missing part of my soul and is helping me heal. I feel like I can do anything with Lindy by my side and I would do anything for her. She has been my life saver. She is my confidante and forever companion.”

After leaving college I served as a police officer in the Metropolitan Police for almost six years. I left after a traumatic brain injury at work which left me with epilepsy.

After a lot of intensive rehab I became a student nurse and trained at University College Hospital in London.

Then in 2007 I was diagnosed with the serious neurological condition, cauda equina syndrome and spinal stenosis which means my spinal cord is seriously compressed. I underwent two emergency operations but despite the surgeons’ best efforts I was left with severe weakness in the lower half of my body and have to use a wheelchair full time.

My life changed overnight. I had been a happy and extremely active person but I suddenly fell into a deep depression. The life I loved had gone forever and I felt that I was hanging by the fingertips on the edge of a very dark and never ending abyss. I was in constant severe pain and I was unable to do most daily tasks independently. My life became unbearable and I planned to kill myself. People didn’t know how I was feeling because I would put on a big smile and say I was fine. To the world I was fun, smiley, strong Jackie yet inside I was unable to cope and in a very dark and lonely place.

I had heard of Canine Partners through an article in a dog-related publication but I didn’t apply as I thought I wasn’t disabled enough. Later, I happened to see a Canine Partners’ demonstration at Canada Place shopping centre in Canary Wharf. I sat a with an open mouth as I watched the amazing dogs and was convinced that my life would be so much better if I had a canine partner.

While I was waiting to be matched, I attended two more demonstrations at Canary Wharf. At one of these demonstrations I got chatting to a puppy parent who was looking after and helping train one of the charity’s pups, an eight-month-old Labrador called Kingston.

On 1st September 2015 my phone rang. Canine Partners had a dog that they thought would be a good match for me. As soon as I knew it was the pup I had met at Canary Wharf my heart almost burst out of my chest with excitement. We were introduced and six weeks after the initial phone call I was beginning my two-week residential training course at Canine Partners’ Midlands Training Centre. Kingston and I bonded straight away. I love every little bit of him.

Kingston helps me throughout my daily life. I have problems with manual dexterity and am forever dropping items but Kingston retrieves things before I know I’ve dropped them.

He helps me to get undressed. He accompanies me to the shower, where he will take my clothes and put them into the washing machine. Kingston will then stay in the bathroom with me and will pass me my towel when I need it. He helps me to get in and out of bed by pulling back the bed sheets and helping me lift my legs. He helps me open and close doors – something I struggle with on my own. And he helps retrieve items from low shelves when shopping. Kingston fetches any mail that comes through the door and helps tear open parcels – something I cannot do without him.

Kingston has also taught himself to recognise when I am going to have an epileptic seizure, giving me a 30 to 40-minute warning so that I can get somewhere safe. He has also taught himself to recognise when I am going to have an emergency due to my diabetes as he can sense when my blood glucose levels are dangerously high or low. These are things that Canine Partners does not teach but have led to him saving my life on multiple occasions. One night I fell from my chair and Kingston responded immediately by pushing the button on my emergency alarm, getting my hypo kit and opening the door for the paramedics. He will also come with me to hospital. His devotion and lifesaving skills have even led to him being awarded a special PDSA award for his heroism.

Kingston has given me a new lease of life. Every day is an adventure. Before he arrived I would never travel unaccompanied but with Kingston by my side I found the confidence to explore my local community and beyond. I know that if I’m ill when we are out Kingston will help me.

He has also had a big effect on my friends and family. They used to constantly worry and check up on me. I could understand their concern but sometimes I felt overwhelmed. Now they know  that when I have Kingston by my side I’m 100 per cent safe and instead of calling me every hour they now call me twice a day.

Kingston is a real ice breaker with the public, as a disabled person you become invisible to society and they don’t interact with you but that has changed. Kingston is very well known and much loved in my local community, people will shout good morning to him from across the street and shop keepers are amazed at how Kingston helps me with my shopping. I love watching people’s reactions to him. As soon as they see him their faces light up and they smile whether or not they know him.

Life with Kingston is brilliant, my confidence has grown and grown, previously I was very shy and a little reserved and didn’t get involved with groups etc now due my increased confidence I volunteer with my local DPO (disabled persons’ organisation) and have become a director and trustee of that charity. I’m also involved with other projects with NHS England where Kingston accompanies me to meetings.

Kingston is my best friend, my soul pup, my heart, my world, my hero, my lifesaver, my everything. Kingston has not only transformed my life, Kingston has given me a brand new one. He has given me hope, love and a fantastic future crammed full of adventure and fun. I owe this truly magical boy so much.

I can never thank the charity enough for bringing Kingston into my life. Kingston has done much more than transform my life. Kingston has given me a life that is full of happiness, laughter fun and adventure. I have gone from a life that was blighted with the ‘big black dog of depression’ to a life that I share with a big beautiful, gentle black dog that radiates love, light and happiness. Kingston is my angel in a fur coat. He rocks my world.

My dad and grandad both had Parkinson’s disease, so I recognised the signs. I was losing coordination and shaking in the right-hand side of my body. I would lose my balance quite often, which resulted in some falls. I was also struggling with depression and anxiety, which are among the many hidden symptoms of the disease.

I left my job as an IT manager in 2004 because I had agoraphobia, causing panic attacks whenever I left home. It also affected my cognitive abilities to the extent that sometimes the simplest task could become very complicated for me to understand.

A lot of the time the thought of just leaving the house was horrific. Although I could drive I would find it difficult to be out in the open. Once I arrived somewhere I would feel awful and I would be shaking, so I was staying at home as much as possible and getting very little exercise.

The right-hand side of my body was curling inwards as my muscles tensed up over the years to cope with the shaking. This affected my posture and gait, which in turn caused back problems and nerve damage in my shoulder.

My wife found Canine Partners’ website and after attending an open day at their southern training centre and talking to the team we decided that an assistance dog could be just what I needed to get my life back on track so I applied immediately. When my application was approved I was over the moon, but I still couldn’t quite believe it.

Then when advanced trainer Els Boardman phoned and said they had a match the reality of it all started to settle in. We arranged to meet Hamlin with Els and another advanced trainer, Clare Cannon, soon after.

It seems funny now, but the instant I saw him I thought: “Oh my, he’s so furry. Imagine all the hair that will come off of him.”

By the time we had finished talking he was asleep by my feet and I just fell for him. It was love at first sight.

Els and Clare asked what I thought and I told them I wanted to take him home right then, but I had to wait until Hamlin and I were fully trained. That was the hardest part – the waiting.

The course at Canine Partners’ training centre was amazing but exhausting. It was a lot more tiring than I ever expected, even though I had been warned. However, it was very well organised, well thought out and a lot of fun.

My trainers were Els and advanced trainer Julia Chase, who both had different approaches to teaching, and that was just brilliant. I felt they could deal with any situation that came up and they were never short of advice or praise. For the first week after we got home it was incredibly exciting, but also a bit stressful. I wanted to do everything right because of all the time, effort and care that had been put into training me and this wonderful dog.

Now we are completely settled and I get up in the morning looking forward to seeing Hamlin, whereas I used to find it hard to motivate myself.

As soon as I move, Hamlin’s there, ready to help. We get up and I feed him and we play, then he goes back to bed for a while before we work out what to do for the day. He loves a quick lie down after breakfast.

Hamlin goes everywhere with me – even to the gym and Pilates, which is excellent for my back. Everyone there loves him.

I tried to go to the gym before, as exercise is essential for people who have Parkinson’s, but I found it very stressful. There’s something about having Hamlin with me that boosts my confidence.

He makes me more approachable as people see me with a beautiful dog rather than just seeing a big, nervous man who shakes a lot. People home in on Hamlin and end up talking to me as a result. He has removed some of my social discomfort. The difference he’s made is incredible. You can’t measure it.

One of the most important things about being with Hamlin is that he gives me a constant point of reference by my side while we’re walking. When you have Parkinson’s, stumbling and falling can be reduced with visual cues like having a dog walking gently by your side. He keeps me going straight when we’re out and about.

He picks my keys up, which I’m forever dropping. He opens doors for me, helps with the washing machine and he helps me with my shoes because sometimes bending down puts a strain on my back. His favourite job is closing the dishwasher for me by flipping it up with his nose. He just loves it.

Hamlin has given me the courage to go back into the outside world, and my wife knows that, while she is at work, he is keeping me safe. Without him I would have become progressively more introverted and reclusive. He enables me to do exercises that help combat some of the effects of my illness and, in addition to all of these wonderful things, he makes me smile and laugh at his antics. He shows a level of devotion to me that I could never have imagined before. He is a joy to be with and I am proud to have him by my side.

Last month Vicky and her canine partner McLaren went for a day out in Brighton with a couple of friends.  They visited the city on a busy Saturday and had lunch at Pizza Express, where according to Vicky, the staff couldn’t be more accommodating, asking them where they would prefer to sit, moving chairs out of the way and bringing another table across so that Vicky could tuck McLaren out of the way of passing feet. After lunch they went shopping and enjoyed the sites of Brighton. McLaren behaved impeccably even when they travelled there and back on the train.

Going to Brighton is something Vicky would never have done on her own before.

Said Vicky: “Being able to take him with me enables me to be a lot more independent and also have the freedom to go and meet friends instead of them always having to come over to me.  This is the second time we’ve taken a trip like this and I feel so much more reassured about going on the train, and also knowing that if I’m all that way away from home and drop my purse or mobile that I wont be having to rely on the good nature of strangers to retrieve them for me.”

Not only was Vicky able to enjoy a day out with friends because of McLaren but she was also able to try on some new shoes, something which might not seem like a big thing, but something she was never able to do alone.

Continued Vicky: “As I can’t lift my legs up to put shoes on McLaren does it for me. In the shop he came round, sat in front of me and flicked one of my legs up onto the other with his nose, like he does at home, so I could try the shoes on.  Once done he repeated the process so that I could try on several sizes, and seemed surprised and excited when I was so pleased and gave him lots of praise for something which is old hat to him as he does it every day.”

Vicky and McLaren’s day out in Brighton brings home how vital our amazing dogs are to disabled people across the country. McLaren makes a huge difference to Vicky’s life in lots of little ways.

Concluded Vicky: “McLaren even met some new friends on the train (a lady who had her hands full with 4 young children) we had a conversation about what McLaren does for me, and they were each allowed to give him a little stroke.  He’s such an icebreaker.  The amount of times I hear ‘what a lovely, gorgeous, adorable, clever, good dog’ when we’re out, is amazing!  I still keep having people say ‘oh we saw you on the TV a while back, isn’t he brilliant’. I wouldn’t be who I am today without McLaren. I love him to the moon and back!”

If you have been moved by this story and would like to do your bit to help train even more amazing dogs like McLaren, then please donate. We do not receive any government funding and rely completely on the goodwill and generosity of those who fundraise for us. You can easily make a donation to Canine Partners today. Either visit our donate page or text BARK16 £5 to 70070.

The lucky duo will be attending the awards evening, which is hosted by television presented Lorraine Kelly, at the Grand Central Hotel in Glasgow on Thursday 10 March.

Read more about their story.

We’ve got our fingers and paws crossed!

Good luck Kitty and Emma!