Lou and Churchill (Black Labrador)
Partnered since 2019
“Churchill has on a number of occasions literally saved my life and on others acted to prevent me becoming seriously unwell. Although it took me a while to put my trust in him and his abilities, I now don't question his interventions and trust him 100%”
Lou
A work colleague mentioned the charity to me, their husband had been looking at applying and they suggested I do the same. I was really unsure and maybe a little nervous about applying at first because I felt the reason I was applying might not be covered. I needn’t have worried, the application and whole process was very welcoming and I'd recommend to anyone nervous about applying, to just do it. It's one of the best things I've ever done.
I live on my own, which was one of my reasons for applying for an assistance dog and I was also at the time travelling the country spending a lot of time alone in hotels and gym studios for work, and nervous about being alone with my condition.
I now travel much less, but still spend a lot of time at the gym where I train and compete in Olympic weightlifting around my full-time job as a radiographer in the NHS.
Churchill has literally changed my life, with his amazing abilities as well as his endless slobber and a home that is never free of fur….no matter how many times I hoover.
He has on a number of occasions literally saved my life and on others acted to prevent me becoming seriously unwell. Although it took me a while to put my trust in him and his abilities, I now don't question his interventions and trust him 100%.
He provides me with confidence to be as active as I was pre-diagnosis, to discover new places in our regular search for alternative walking locations and has forced me to be more sociable because everyone wants to say hello to him, and he makes me smile every day.
I think he has provided my family with reassurance that in the event I do become unwell, I'm not alone and he can and does help me.
Having seen the wonderful work Churchill does for me, my Mum has just volunteered to be a puppy parent and will soon be meeting her first puppy. I think it's her way of saying thank you for the work Churchill does.
My expectations from Churchill were only that he would do what I asked on command, but he demonstrated from quite soon in our partnership that he is able to notify me before I experience symptoms that I'm not well. He's not been taught this, but his ability/intuition or whatever prompts him has enabled me to get medication onboard earlier and allow me to manage my symptoms at home meaning less hospital visits which is always a bonus.
Despite losing his hearing a few years ago after surgery, he still manages to work for me, and respond to the few non-verbal signals he was able to learn just before his surgery which I think demonstrates perfectly how amazing he is.
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