How our Community Dogs improve people's lives
27/04/2023
News
Community Dog Georgie has been helping Janet* to reduce feelings of social isolation, boost her motivation and become more active in her local community.
Janet used to have a very active social life, was a member of many groups and would take part in lots of activities, until her husband passed away four years ago. Together, they used to attend church groups on a regular basis, went to the gym together and enjoyed regular outings. After her husband passed away, followed by Covid, Janet stopped attending any of the social groups and would only rarely leave the house. Janet also has a diagnosis of dementia.
Janet lives by herself and has a carer visit three times a week to help with personal care and house chores. She was referred to the service as she was becoming more socially isolated, due to a lack of motivation to leave the house, and most of her social interactions were limited to her family, close friend and carer.
Over the course of eight sessions, Janet formed a strong bond with Community Dog Georgie, and she started to feel highly motivated by Georgie’s company. During the initial visits, Janet started to go out for walks with Georgie and specialist dog handler Julia in her local area. After a few sessions, Julia suggested joining a weekly exercise class. Janet’s initial reaction was, “Why would I want to do that?” but when Julia explained Georgie would be coming too, she quickly changed her mind - saying: "Well if Georgie is coming I will definitely go!"
Although Georgie was the initial motivator for going to the exercise class, Janet continued going even once the sessions with Georgie had finished. She was supported by her weekly carer to attend this class every week, connecting with the other people who attend the group. Janet and her carer also go for regular walks together as well as to the shops, and they have developed a much stronger relationship over the last few weeks.
Our specially-trained Community Dogs work alongside their handler to help someone achieve a specific goal. We work with a wide range of people across different community settings - visiting on a regular basis to create a strong bond between our dogs and the people they are supporting. Our Community Dog sessions run in collaboration with healthcare professionals, support workers or a nominated support person in order to ensure that the safety and wellbeing of everyone involved is being met.
*name changed
Our work in the community
Our Community Dog programme helps people overcome specific challenges in all sorts of community settings. Lots of our community activities are created in partnership with specialist services – this could be young people’s mental health, social care for adults who have learning disabilities, or dedicated support for people with dementia.
