Having been forced to self train my own assistance dog due to the covid lock down I discovered a whole new world that opened up to me. Like any other disabled people I feared being alone or venuring out without someone incase something happened. Then indi aka indianabones a little black lab cross walked into my life, yes I planned to approach a charity and go the official route prior to covid but the wait times were 2 to 7 years .. and post covid most closed their waiting lists completely, I discovered you could owner train an assistance dog and have them pass the public access test ( although not a legal requirement its advisable).

I found a new zest for life a freedom and connected with literally hundreds of owner trained assistance dog teams... I have since gained several dog training qualifications and im working towards my level 3 in assistance dog training. The difference an assistance dog can make is immeasurable, from pots alert dogs, (long covid is known to cause this and its thought that over 15000 people in the uk have been or will be diagnosed with this following the covid) diabetic alert dogs who can smell high or low blood surgars saving lives, and ptsd and autism dogs providing grounding safety and support, all giving freedom to the disabled community. I plan to work both via teams or zoom and in person at accessible venues ( virtual allows me to cover a wider area but also is a disability friendly option for those whos illness or disability varies) and to run a class teaching the owner mainly and the dog the tasks and behaviours expected of an assistance dog. I have also published a 4 books which sell on amazon on thos subject.