Letters from readers:

Support dog required by couple

Hello,
I am writing this letter in the hope that you can help. I am in a wheelchair due to polio and my husband has Parkinsons disease but although not in a wheelchair, his balance is severely impaired and wheelchair days are iminent for him.

We would dearly like a support dog. We already have two spoilt dogs that we love dearly, however, they are more work than help we wouldn't swop them - they are our babies.

How do we go about applying for a support dog? Would we even be considered because we already have two dogs? Can you help? We live in county Durham, north east England. We could pay something towards the costs for training. - Jillie

Hello Jillie,
I have a few addresses, websites and email addresses for you, but I am not sure which would be the best for you to contact. As you already have two dogs, you may want to talk first to Dog Aid, which provides access to dog training for people with physical disabilities, enabling them to train their own dog in basic control and specialised tasks and to assist them manage their disability in everyday life.

It will perhaps depend on the breed of your two dogs and their ages and how able they would be to perform the kinds of tasks that would be required of them (for example, if you need a dog that can be trained to open doors, a small dog obviously can not reach the handle). They will tell you if either of your two dogs is suitable to be trained and could handle the tasks you need them to perform.

If neither of your own dogs is suitable, then you should contact either Canine Partners, Support dogs, or Dogs for the Disabled. I am sure any of the three would be very helpful and having two dogs already should not make any difference.