Assistance Dog Learns To Do Washing And Gardening For Horwich Woman

Sailor lives with Caroline Hall, 41, who has struggled with mobility issues since suffering a spinal stroke in 2012.

He now helps her with day-to-day tasks, and gives her the confidence to get out and about.

She said: “He’s my new child, we’ve been perfectly matched.

“He absolutely loves doing the washing, it’s his favourite thing.

“If you leave the door to the washing machine open and leave him be he will just find random things to put in there.

“The post coming and doing the washing are two things I used to dread doing but with Sailor they’re both fun. He enjoys it, so I enjoy it.”

The former RSPCA inspector was left paralysed from the neck down after her stroke, spending six weeks in intensive care, and eight months in hospital learning to move again.

Needing a stick to get around has made Caroline scared to go out to new places, only taking short trips to local shops.

After seeing another woman who relied on walking aids with an assistance dog, Caroline started researching her options, and found Dogs for Good, a charity that pairs service animals with those in need.

She spent a year waiting to be paired with a dog before she was introduced to Sailor six months ago, and her life has changed for the better.

Caroline added: “I didn’t think that an assistance dog was an option for me because I wasn’t confined to a wheelchair, even after I applied I thought I wouldn’t be chosen because there’s so many deserving people out there.

“I was blown away to find a dog that I could walk on a lead, that was a tremendous moment and such an amazing feeling.

“Sailor gives me the independence to go and do something without the horrific thought of ‘what happens if I drop something or fall’. It’s life changing, I don’t worry anymore.”