An administration assistant from Sunderland has helped to raise over £400 for a charity very close to her heart with the help of her dog, Alex and has been overwhelmed with support from her colleagues.
Fifty-year-old Leonie Zacharias who works for Stagecoach North East at the company’s bus depot in Sunderland, helped to organise a fundraising event at Newton Community Hall with Have A Good Dog dog training company, to raise much needed funds for Dog Aid which helps people with disabilities to lead an independent life.
Dog A.I.D (Assistance in Disability) is an assistance dog organisation which works with clients to train their own pet dog to help them with daily tasks such as opening doors, closing the curtains and making the bed.
Leonie has very personal reasons for helping the charity, as her partner Barry, a former Stagecoach bus driver for 27 years, has benefited from their dog training and support when they decided to train their own dog, Alex.
Leonie explained: “After being a bus driver for so many years, a job he loved, Barry unfortunately developed peripheral neuropathy, a painful and debilitating condition which affected his hands and feet and meant he had to give up his job. To help maintain his independence, we took on a black Labrador puppy and decided to train him to help Barry around the house and out in the community.”
Leonie and Barry met with dog trainer Vicky Welsh from Have a Good Dog, who also volunteers for Dog A.I.D, and together they trained Alex to achieve his Level 1 in skills training, where he can pick up Barry’s walking stick or keys, and even open the door for him.
Leonie continued: “We went to dog training classes together and joined the Dog A.I.D programme, and Alex can now progress to his next level of training, which is already making such a difference to Barry’s quality of life. I wanted to help this great cause and give something back, so I worked with Vicky and Dog A.I.D to help organise a fundraising day, with workshops to help dog owners teach their beloved pets new skills, and selling tickets and collecting raffle prizes and gifts for the tombola stall.