Liza’s story: A Dementia Dog for dad

Liza’s story:

My dad Rab has always been a happy, sociable person who absolutely loves animals – especially dogs. Dad was diagnosed two years ago with vascular dementia and aphasia, which means he struggles to find the right words to communicate with people.

He’s lost a lot of his confidence in socialising, and we can see how frustrating it has been for him. We couldn’t have imagined that dad’s love of dogs – and one special golden retriever in particular – would help improve his speech and give a much-needed boost to his overall wellbeing.

Dad is 77 now and regularly attends groups in Greenock run by Alzheimer Scotland. The charity has been a real lifeline for him, as well as for my mum Sheila and all the family. It was Janice from our local dementia resource centre who recommended the Dementia Dog service.

That’s how dad got to meet an amazing dog called Ludo and his handler Úna. They are from a charity called Dogs for Good that works in partnership with Alzheimer Scotland, where trained Community Dogs like Ludo help people with dementia improve different skills.

They met with dad to find out more about him and then arranged for one-to-one visits from Ludo and Úna over eight weeks to improve his communication skills. It’s not the usual way you imagine someone getting speech therapy, but dad loved every minute of it. It really improved his mood and he looked forward to each session.

It was all planned out so thoughtfully too. Dad had kept racing pigeons all his life but sadly it became too much for him after his diagnosis. Úna knew how much this meant to him and she was able to introduce a pigeon toy, named Starry after dad’s favourite bird, into the sessions with Ludo.

The work they have done is fantastic and we could see a big difference in dad. By the end of the programme, his speech was better and he was able to confidently ask Ludo to bring Starry to him. They created a real bond with each other and a photo of dad with Ludo now sits pride of place on the mantelpiece.

Dad still gets to see Ludo when he visits the Alzheimer Scotland dementia café every couple of months and loves taking part in activities and games like Doggy Bingo. Whenever they see each other, dad smiles from ear to ear, and Ludo’s tail starts wagging.

It’s been a wonderful experience for dad and our whole family and shows what an amazing difference dogs like Ludo can make to the lives of people living with dementia.