'My assistance dog gave me my life back again'

4 hours ago

Mousumi Bakshi,in Leighton Buzzardand

Tony Fisher,Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire and Buckinghamshire

News image — Shelley Fitzsimmons has a condition that causes her joints to dislocate without warning

Canine Partners A woman wearing jeans and a red jumper sitting in a wheelchair. A golden Labrador is standing on its hind legs with its paws on her legs and she is cuddling its face. The dog has a harness with Canine Partners written on it. There is an open cupboard door in the background. — Shelley Fitzsimmons has a condition that causes her joints to dislocate without warning

A woman living with a rare connective tissue disorder said having an assistance dog had given her back her life again.

Shelley Fitzsimmons, 52, from Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS), which causes her joints to dislocate without warning.

Last year she was matched with her second assistance dog, Meikle, a three-year-old golden Labrador retriever, and said "it was like a light came back on" when he "bounced" into her home.

Jo Burns, from the charity Canine Partners, which matched Meikle with Fitzsimmons, said the trained dogs "open doors, literally and figuratively, for people".

"The dogs transform lives, restore confidence and reduce isolation," Burns added.

DJ McLaren/BBC A golden Labrador sitting down and facing the camera. There is a chair, a bag and a soft toy in the background. The floor is wooden. — Fitzsimmons said that when Meikle arrived "he bounced into our lives"

Fitzsimmons described living in constant pain and a fear of falling, and said Meikle "can get me sitting up in bed; he can come in the bathroom with me and pass me my shower gel, shampoo and towel".

She said "life has just been amazing" since Meikle joined her just over a year ago.

"He can help get my clothes out of the drawer and he can do the tumble dryer and washing machine," she said.

Canine Partners A woman with glasses wearing jeans and a red jumper sitting on a sofa with her hands on her lap. A golden Labrador is bringing her her slippers in its mouth. It is wearing a purple harness. — Meikle helps Fitzsimmons by bringing her socks and slippers

Fitzsimmons previously had assistance dog Kibble, a black Labrador, for 10 years.

"He would figure out when my heart rate was going high and would make me sit down," she said.

"Before I had Kibble I would not go out of the house, I would not answer the telephone and everything was scary."

She said Kibble brought her "out of her shell".

"People don't see you in a wheelchair when you have a beautiful dog by your side," she added.

Canine Partners A golden Labrador putting an item of clothing into a washing machine. It is wearing a purple harness with "Canine Partners" written on it. — Meikle helps Fitzsimmons put clothes into the washing machine and tumble dryer

Burns said it took two years to train an assistance dog and that mainly Labradors were used because their eagerness to please and love of food made them easier to train than other breeds.

Their size was also important "as they have to be of a height to help someone in a wheelchair or to reach a button", she said.

Fitzsimmons said having "a Meikle who will cuddle you when you are feeling down; who will get you dressed when you really don't want to get out of bed" was "life changing".

"You can have a human carer, but you can't always have a Meikle," she added.

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