Our story begins when my husband Andrew had a motorbike accident leaving him with a spinal cord injury and paraplegia. One day, during his long rehabilitation in hospital, he met a lady who was also paraplegic who was visiting the spinal unit. She had a beautiful labrador by her side. Andrew got chatting to her and her husband and they told him that her dog was an assistance dog, trained and provided by a wonderful charity, Dogs for the Disabled. 

We contacted the charity on Andrew's return home and he made an application for his own assistance dog. As you can imagine, Dogs for the Disabled have many children and adults waiting for a dog, and it takes a lot of time and money to train and look after each puppy. Also it is important to find the right dog for each person as this is a long term partnership! Luckily Andrew was accepted onto the scheme.

Three years on and Andrew got a phone call to say they may have found a match for him. A week later Frank arrived at our home. He was a two year old golden retriever and was absolutely beautiful with a gentle and loving nature. I think we both fell in love with him on first sight! Andrew has now had Frank by his side for 9 months. They have an amazing bond and Frank makes a difference every day. He carries out tasks such as picking things up, fetching all sorts of items and closing doors. He is also a good friend and likes to be around Andrew as much as possible whether that is being at work with him or watching TV! 

Frank makes us laugh every day and brightens both our lives. We both feel honoured and grateful to have Frank with us. I would like to raise funds to help Dogs for the Disabled provide more assistance dogs for other disabled adults and children, and their families. I have first hand experience of the positive difference this can make.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity. So it’s the most efficient way to donate – saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.