Dog A.I.D. (Assistance In Disability)

21/06/2024

Happy Friday everyone! We're finishing the week on a high sharing wonderful news of Dog A.I.D. partnership Daph and Poppy passing their Level 2 assessment. Well done to both of you 🥰🥰🥰

Huge thanks go to the fantastic Ethical Dog - Dog behaviour and training for training and supporting the partnership!

Congratulations to one of our lovely assistance dog partnerships who have just passed their second assistance dog assessment with Dog AID ❤️ beautiful Poppy has learned to pick up items, empty the washing machine and find her Mums phone incase of an emergency 👌🏼

Daph has worked so hard on teaching gentle loose lead walking, recognising when Poppy needs a break, clear communication, reading and responding to her body language and and helping her to feel calm and settled in different places such as a cafe environment 🐾

We will now be working toward their final assistance dog accreditation and I’m very proud of their progress and journey 🥹🩷

DogAID are an amazing charity who provide free assistance dog training and accreditation to adults with a physical disability through a network of volunteer dog training professionals 👌🏼

Find more about dogaid here www.dogaid.org.uk

19/06/2024

Huge Dog A.I.D. congratulations go to our client Cassandra and the very clever (and rather adorable!) Clover who recently passed their Level 2 assessment on their journey towards becoming an accredited Assistance Dog partnership. Well done both!

Huge thanks go to wonderful volunteer dog trainer Keyna Mullany for assessing the team!

17/06/2024

A big Dog A.I.D. "thank you" to in Shrewsbury for organising an in-store raffle to raise funds for us! We're very grateful to the team and Ableworld's customers for generously supporting us.

We'd also like to thank qualified partnership, Abby and Assistance Dog Pepper, for attending the store. Pepper, as star of the show, took her responsibilities for drawing the winning raffle ticket very seriously and did the paw-fect job!

14/06/2024

We're so thrilled and super grateful to hear of our Dog A.I.D. clients who are inspired to fundraise on behalf of our charity so that we can continue to deliver our life-changing services.

Ann Blake (pictured with Assistance Dog Snoopy) has created a truly beautiful book called A Legacy of Love which has collated original artwork and inspirational quotes. Art has been provided by famous names including Jools Holland! This book is now on sale to raise money for both Dog A.I.D. and MDUK, causes close to Ann's heart.

You can read more about the story behind A Legacy of Love here - https://www.alegacyoflove.co.uk/

To contribute to Ann's fundraiser, follow this link - https://www.gofundme.com/f/printing-of-legacy-of-love-book

Thank you Ann for your amazing work in putting this wonderful book together.

13/06/2024

Put your paws together please for Lillie, one of our amazing volunteer trainers. Lillie of Moo Dog Training has been doing incredible work assessing partnerships for Dog A.I.D. in South Wales. Lillie has shared these great pics of Rachel and Millyrose and Debbie and Rexy. Huge thanks go to Lillie and congratulations to our partnerships for passing their annual assessments!

12/06/2024

We were delighted to be invited by Barks from the Bookshelf to join them for a podcast talking about Dog A.I.D. and training pets dogs to become Assistance Dogs! Dog A.I.D. CEO Belinda Johnson and trainer Fran Murtaugh chatted with the brilliant Barks team about our life-changing work supported by our incredible and talented community of voluntary professional dog trainers across the U.K. We're very excited to be providing a demo at DOGx.

Find this episode wherever you find you podcasts (spotify, apple etc)

There are still a few tickets left for DOGx 2024 so be quick to grab one here: https://www.pact-dogs.com/dogx2024

07/06/2024

This Volunteers Week, we're saying a huge "thank you" to the volunteers who contribute to Dog A.I.D. delivering its life-changing services.

We have a team of volunteer trustees who give their time and expertise to provide strategic direction, advice and good governance to our charity. Our trustee team includes Isobel (pictured) who is a fundraising professional. When asked about the most rewarding aspect of volunteering with Dog A.I.D. she said, "Working with the amazing, dedicated staff team and being inspired by the Disabled people and volunteers who work together to train dogs for life-changing Assistance Dog partnerships. Each story illustrates the amazing impact Dog A.I.D. training and support has in building independence, confidence and supporting Disabled people to work and be more active in their local communities".

We are currently recruiting new trustees for our Board. You would need to be available for a quarterly Board meeting as well as contributing to discussions and other meetings throughout the year, usually held remotely. If you would like to put your skills and experience to use for a great cause, we'd love to hear from you! Please take a look at the application pack on our website - https://dogaid.org.uk/vacancies

05/06/2024

Drum roll please!!! We're thrilled to announce that our Trainer of the Month for May 2024 is...Caroline Pen*stone! Congratulations Caroline!! 🥳😄😍

Caroline is a committed Dog A.I.D. volunteer who uses her skills to coach our clients alongside running her own training business - castdogtraining.co.uk. We received such wonderful feedback from a client who said “Caroline is in a league of her own. She has helped me so much with how to get both myself and Honey ready for the Level 2 assessment. I’m really privileged to have Caroline as my trainer”.

Thank you for volunteering with us Caroline!

04/06/2024

Happy Volunteers' Week to all of our incredible Dog A.I.D. volunteer trainers! We couldn't deliver our life-changing work without the time, dedication and expertise of our UK-wide network of wonderful dog trainers. Thank you all - we're so grateful for everything you do for us!

15/05/2024

🌟 Exciting Opportunity Alert! Join our team and make a difference! 🌟

Are you an experienced and qualified dog trainer who is passionate about using your skills to make an incredible impact? We're now recruiting for the exciting role of Training Advisor. Join us in our mission to support more physically Disabled people across the U.K. to train their pet dog to become an Assistance Dog.

🌍 Position: Training Advisor
📍 Location: Flexible. Predominantly home based with regular travel to head office in Shrewsbury and other locations across the U.K.
💼 Full-time/Part-time: 25 hours per week (we're open to a chat about how this can be worked alongside existing job commitments including your own business. However, please note that this role is not being offered on a self-employed basis)

In this role, you'll be leading the development of key projects as well as supporting our network of fabulous volunteer trainers. We're looking for a highly organised person with extensive experience in positive dog training methods, great interpersonal skills and bags of initiative!

If you're ready to use your skills for good and be part of a dedicated team, apply now!

For more details, visit our website - https://dogaid.org.uk/vacancies

13/05/2024

Wishing a very happy belated birthday to Dog A.I.D.'s Debs Longbone! Debs is a committed and much valued volunteer with our charity. She took a trip to Scotland to celebrate a very special birthday milestone with superstar Assistance Dog Vega. 🥳🥳

We hope that Debs, Vega, Riley and Skye had a wonderful break seeing the fabulous sights of beautiful Scotland. Thank you for sharing your photos with us Debs! 😍😍😍

09/05/2024

We're hiring!!!

Dog A.I.D. is currently recruiting for the exciting new role of Programme Support and Engagement Officer. The post-holder will play a crucial role within a small, friendly team, supporting the delivery of our services and engaging with volunteers and clients during their Dog A.I.D. journey.

Check out the recruitment pack on our website today! -

05/05/2024

We are delighted to announce that Dog A.I.D.'s Trainer of the Month for April is...Peta Brandwood!!!

Peta of has trained with both of her clients four times throughout the month and has also supported us by providing additional capacity to deliver partnership assessments. We have had wonderful feedback from a client saying "Peta is a very experienced and effective, caring trainer who has so much patience coaching me to achieve the high standards needed to gain Assistance Dog status. She clearly loves what she does and is always ready with help, guidance and advice. I am very lucky to have Peta as my trainer".

In addition to her training, Peta is a fantastic advocate for Dog A.I.D.'s work and delivered an awareness raising talk to a community group, supported by dog Bo who performed a demo of Assistance Dog tasks. Thank you, Peta for your commitment to Dog A.I.D. - we're so grateful for all of your hard work for us (and huge thanks go to Bo too!)

30/04/2024

Everyone at Dog A.I.D. would like to send thanks and huge congratulations to fabulous supporters, Megan, Chloe and Lauren, who ran the Paris Marathon earlier this month to fundraise for us!

Megan said, "The day went pretty much to plan, we had decided to run at a relatively easy pace for us so we could enjoy the sights and the atmosphere without worrying about our pace/time. It also turned out to be pushing on 20 degrees so much hotter than the wet winter we have been used to running in here 😂. We finished in just over 4hr30mins so we are pleased with that for our first marathon but we are definitely itching to do another one already to see what we can do if we push the pace a little! After the marathon we did some last bits of sightseeing and I’m very glad we carried on moving because apart from being a little tired my legs aren’t feeling to horrendous!

I’m really glad we have been able to raise over £800 for Dog A.I.D. and that was definitely a huge motivation during the hard miles".

We're so grateful for your support and commitment ladies, especially after having to train through such a soggy winter and early spring. Well done!!!!

24/04/2024

Congratulations go to Illinca and Blu who have passed their Level 2 assessment this week! Well done to you both 🎉🎉🎉🥳🥳🥳

Dog A.I.D. would like to pass on our thanks and gratitude to Miriam of for training Illinca and Blu and for her commitment and support of the partnership

22/04/2024

Dog A.I.D. attended the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors - APBC conference at the weekend. It was a fantastic event and we had the opportunity to meet many new people in the sector, find out about their work and talk about Dog A.I.D. to encourage trainers to apply to volunteer with us. Thank you APBC for inviting us!

We were very happy to bump into a couple of familiar faces - Danielle and Assistance Dog in training Nuffle and one of our incredible Dog A.I.D. trainers, Daniel Warren-Cummings! It was great to catch up in person. We really hope that everyone who attended the conference had an enjoyable and informative weekend!

20/04/2024

We’re at the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors - APBC conference today! We’d love to meet as many visitors as possible. Come and say hello!

08/04/2024

Happy Monday everyone! Huge thanks go to our wonderful volunteer trainer Peta of Peta4Dogs - Professional Dog Training, with adorable partner Bo for raising awareness of our work. We are so grateful for the time that Peta and our network of volunteer trainers commit to Dog A.I.D. (Assistance In Disability) - we couldn‘t do what we do without them!

If you would like to help raise awareness and funds for our life changing work, we’d love to hear from you! Please contact [email protected]

As a dog trainer running my own business, I also work as a volunteer dog training for the unique and fabulous charity Dog AID (Assistance In Disability). https://dogaid.org.uk/
We work with people with physical disabilities to help them train their own pet dogs to become assistance dogs. This can be life-changing for the owners, giving them confidence and independence to cope with everyday tasks and more.
My little dog Bo has been trained by me to do many tasks of an assistance dog -
if I couldn’t train my dog to do the tasks then I couldn’t justify my role as an Assistance Dog trainer!
This week we went to do a talk and demo to a lovely group of people, The Thetford Wednesday Club. We had a great time, with Bo entertaining everyone as she demonstrated her skills in tidying up items, ringing the bell, picking up my phone, fetching my wellingtons and many more tasks. The feedback was just brilliant and we also received a very welcome donation for Dog AID. If you would like to host a Dog AID talk and demo please let me know. I do ask for a donation as this all goes straight to the charity to help fund the amazing work we do.
Bo in her Dog AID Fund Raiser jacket.

04/04/2024

We’re absolutely over the moon to announce that Dog A.I.D. has been awarded a substantial three-year grant from Foundation. The generous funding provided by Pets Foundation will be vital in growing our network of amazing volunteer dog trainers and engaging and supporting more physically Disabled people to train their own pet dog to become an Assistance Dog. The impact of having an Assistance Dog is huge for the clients we work with, empowering them to become more independent as well as increasing confidence and self-esteem and reducing social isolation.

Dog A.I.D.’s CEO, Belinda Johnson, expressed the charity’s thanks to Pets Foundation saying, “We are so grateful to Pets Foundation for their ongoing generous support of Dog A.I.D. There is ever-growing demand for our programme and this fantastic award is so important for Dog A.I.D. as we look to grow and improve our services delivered throughout the United Kingdom”.

Thank you, Pets Foundation!

02/04/2024

Dog A.I.D. is a charity partner of the Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors' 35th Anniversary conference! Come and meet us at the event 20th-21st April at the Mercure Hotel, Daventry. The conference has a programme of fantastic sessions and speakers. Book your ticket today - https://www.apbc.org.uk/apbc-conference-2024/

02/04/2024

Good morning everyone! We hope that you and your dogs had a wonderful Easter weekend 😀 We're pleased to bring you our Spring newsletter with our latest updates

Earlyworld House | 7 Darwin Court | Oxon Business Park | Welshpool Road | Shrewsbury | SY3 5AL | Telephone: 01743 588469 Registered Charity in England and Wales with Registered Number 1178719. [email protected]

29/03/2024

We're so happy to announce that our Trainer of the Month for March is...Keyna Mullany!

Keyna, who runs "Fresh Start Pet Behaviour and Training" (https://www.freshstartpbt.co.uk/) has shown exceptional commitment to her client this month. We were told, “Keyna is so wonderful and understanding. She is an amazing trainer and I really trust her with my dog”.

Well done Keyna and thank you for everything you do for Dog A.I.D.!

21/03/2024

Hello! It's Beanie, Dog A.I.D. Ambassa-dog here! Me and my mum Rhiannon delivered a chat about Dog A.I.D. to Duffield Afternoon WI a few months back and they then very kindly chose us to be their Charity of the Year. The lovely ladies invited us back this week and presented us with a totally paw-some cheque for £650 that they've fundraised through their projects!!! We're totally blown away by their generous support of Dog A.I.D. Thank you!!!

18/03/2024

Happy Monday everyone! We're starting the week off with a big smile as we share photos from the fantastic community concert that took place in Antrim, Northern Ireland on 8th March. The event was held to raise money for Dog A.I.D. and the idea of Hazel Shields. Hazel's husband, Richard has trained his Assistance Dog, the magnificent Odin, with the support of Dog A.I.D.

Hazel has been absolutely incredible, bringing together bands to perform at the concert, along with securing donations for raffle prizes and even baking an amazing Dog A.I.D. themed cake for the event! The concert raised an incredible £1801 which will support our life-changing work.

We cannot thank everyone who worked on delivering this wonderful event enough - Hazel, Richard, the musical acts who performed, Parkhall College for providing the venue, everyone who donated prizes and helped with logistics and planning, and everyone who donated and attended on the night and had a fabulous time. We're so grateful to you all - thank you!

15/03/2024

Dog A.I.D. Trainer representative Fran Murtaugh with Corrin from PACT, having a catch up at Crufts last week. We are very proud to be partnering with PACT in October at DogX 2024. Come and see us there. Over 50% of tickets have already been sold for the event so don't miss out - book today!

https://www.pact-dogs.com/dogx2024