A woman from Salford who suffered a stroke says she has been given a new lease of life by a dog with Crufts Champion lineage.
Pendlebury resident Heather Mallard had a stroke in 2005 and is living with erosive osteoarthritis and chronic fatigue syndrome, which can make completing routine tasks painful.
Thankfully, she can call on her Poodle Bonnie – a disability assistance support dog and a descendant of the 2014 Crufts Best in Show winner – for help around her home.
The pooch has been trained by national charity Support Dogs to help Heather with a number of tasks, including picking up and fetching items for Heather, such as her mobile phone and remote control, as well as unloading the washing machine.
She can also help Heather to get undressed, open doors and pick up items from supermarket shelves.
Heather explained: “She knows when that Support Dogs jacket goes on, she’s there for me.
“She will pick up objects for me and we will make a game of it. I literally can’t bend to get the laundry out, so when my husband’s not around, she will put her head in the machine and pull it out.
“And if I need more support in the future, I can take her back to Support Dogs and they will give her more intensive training as my needs change. She’s a really smart dog – she definitely would have been a Crufts Champion, had her breeder kept her.”
The poodle’s sister, Pearl, has also been shown at a Championship level and qualified for Crufts at her first eligible show.
It was therefore no surprise when Bonnie went on to form a successful support dog partnership with Heather.
Following her stroke, it took the mum from Salford two years to learn to walk again and she still uses a rollator walking aid to get around, as she is determined to carry on being mobile as long as she can, but can sit down when she’s tired.
The 66-year-old said she will one day need a wheelchair to get around and knows Bonnie’s support will prove invaluable.
“I love her – she’s my life. I find her new skills so useful, especially if my husband goes out or if my daughter’s at work. Yet, she also helps me psychologically,” she explained.
Heather, a retired company secretary married to retired engineer John, also 66, had been an active mum before becoming ill.
She had ridden horses and worked a 10-acre plot of land where she lived, in Aberdeenshire, before she suffered a stroke.
“I had gone to bed at 9.30pm and didn’t really wake up,” Heather recalled.
“John checked on me and I had suffered a stroke. I spent the first year in bed and wasn’t able to do anything. My daughter became my primary carer.”
Three years after her stroke, she was diagnosed with ME (chronic fatigue syndrome), after being constantly tired, with muscle and back aches.
But thanks to Bonnie’s training, Heather’s loved ones can rest assured that there is an extra pair of paws to help.
“For me, having Bonnie trained by Support Dogs has been life-changing,” she said.
“Bonnie keeps me stable and now I can enjoy life more, because I’ve got that support with me all the time. It’s that feeling of comfort, and it also allows other people to be more understanding towards me.
“Just having Bonnie beside me gives that barrier between people and me, which is so very good for me both physically and psychologically.”
You can find out more about the charity’s work on their website.
