From retrieving dropped keys to fetching a phone when owner Sarah Henson fell from her wheelchair, support dog Towcester is top dog!
For Sarah Henson, a black Labradoodle puppy gifted to her six years ago has become much more than a pet.
Towcester – known as Towcesty (pronounced Toastie!) for short, is a disability assistance dog which has been rigorously trained by the national charity Support Dogs. At six years’ old, what she lacks in size, she makes up for in every other way.
Sarah, 76, from Lincolnshire, sustained a T6 complete spinal cord injury after a horse-riding accident nearly 30 years ago. After five months in hospital, Sarah began adapting to life back at home but found physical restrictions frustrating, especially dropping things just out of reach and being unable to pick them up.
Dedicated to improving the lives of people with challenging medical conditions, Support Dogs had helped transform Sarah’s life previously, by training her Hungarian Viszla puppy China. As well as picking up items she’d dropped, China was trained to use a special rope system to lift Sarah’s legs on her bed and pull her into sitting position.
When China died suddenly aged nine years old, Sarah was devastated. She remembers: “I’d never been so upset; she’d always been right there. It wasn’t just not having someone to help me but not having a companion to face the world with.”
Shortly after losing China and seeing her devastation, Sarah’s son and daughter-in-law presented her with a new puppy, Towcesty. After a couple of years, Towcesty was found suitable to be trained by Support Dogs and is now a fully qualified disability assistance dog.
To Sarah however, she is so much more. She explained:
“Towcesty’s a jolly little soul and allows me the chance to be independent. I wouldn’t feel confident driving or going out without her.
“I drop my keys often and without her there to retrieve them for me, I’d be completely stuck. She always looks quite triumphant when she gives them to me! I chat away to her all day. She’s a great companion.”
Sarah has been impressed by Support Dogs’ training team. She said: “People say to me ‘ah, aren’t the dogs brilliant’. Yes, they are but it’s only because of the Support Dogs’ trainers. They are honestly the brilliant ones!”
Sarah’s looking forward to the festive season and shared that Towcesty isn’t forgotten when it comes to presents. Sarah said: “She always gets a little stocking with Christmas goodies in it.”
For more information on Support Dogs, visit: supportdogs.org.uk
This article was featured in the Winter 2024 edition of FORWARD magazine
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