Why are our family raising funds for dogs for good?

My mother is a nutter, she would say eccentric, most would say unique :) 

She has raised me on her own since I was 1 when she split with my father, she was widowed from my stepdad (or dad as i call him) when i was 6 and now is married to a very sensible man called Mike who works away and takes me to Doctor Who conventions and feeds me haribo sweeties so essentially we have been alone for 10 years or more.  She spends her days talking about databases and programming (apparently this is fun and databases are sexy ... i do worry about her lol)  and her evenings taxiing me about to dance classes or police cadets, making dance costumes, teaching singing and generally not standing still, well actually she never stands still because she spends most of her time in a wheelchair so its more a case of 'sitting still' :)

I will leave home in a year or two because i'm now 16 and you can't live with your mother forever, as I've been her carer for the past 10 years this means that she would be without assistance.  Assistance dogs help with things like picking items up off the floor, unloading the dishwasher, opening doors etc they can even pull a wheelchair (I fear I have visions of a mad woman shouting 'mush mush' and whizzing round the streets of Hebburn towed by a labrodoodle lol).  They give quality of life back to those who need it but there is a huge shortage in the UK.  

All the places you can get an assistance dog from have closed their lists, they just can't take anymore on.  Most people have heard of guide dogs for the blind, many understand the concept of the 'hearing' dog but the nature of an assistance dog is lost on most.  Imagine not being able to pick your phone up when you drop it, or having to sit cross legged on the floor to sort washing out only  to realise that you are now stuck and your carer is not around to help you up. I've rescued mother many times from the bath or the bottom of the stairs because she has slipped or fallen or just got herself stuck and if no-one is around how can you get help?

I've set myself a target to become a puppy partner, that means i need to raise £1000 this year, i may not make it but i'll give it a jolly good try.

Esme Phillips xxx

UPDATED 19TH FEB 2019

Sadly Mike passed away, our new target is to sponsor a dog in his memory x

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