The moment Amy Hogan met Bonnie, she knew she was the one.
"It's a little bit like a first date really. There's a sort of chemistry," says Miss Hogan, who has cerebral palsy and just over four years ago was matched with the labrador poodle-cross through the Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust.
Miss Hogan is a researcher for the Cerebral Palsy Society of New Zealand and completed a pyschology degree at Auckland University in 2008. "Being an academic, I'm going to be surrounded by a lot of paper," says the Milford resident.
She recalls an incident where she was handing in an assignment and the papers flew from her hands and blew across the ground. Bonnie was on hand to pick up each piece - including one in a tree - and return them to her.
"She's very delicate with things. Just yesterday I was picking up a script from the pharmacy and the pill packet slipped off my knee when I was crossing the road. She picked it up without even denting the box."
Miss Hogan's mum, Jody, tells us how Bonnie would automatically take off her daughter's shoes and socks for her when she arrived home from classes each day.
Although Miss Hogan says she has always been an independent person, having Bonnie made her realise how much more she could achieve.
"I have a very supportive family and group of friends. But she's extended my independence to a level I never really realised I'd manage. Going to new places used to be difficult and people would talk to me really slowly or really loudly.
Now they approach me differently, they see me as her handler rather than that girl in the wheelchair. People are really keen to talk about dogs, I know just about every dog in Milford.
``My entire life, people have been responsible for me. But I'm entirely responsible for her.''
YOUNG DOGS LEARNING NEW TRICKS
Mobility dogs don't just come equipped for the job. Natalie Ramm is the senior canine co-ordinator tasked with getting
the dogs ready to be paired with someone in need.
A sleepy puppy yawns and clambers to his still-soft padded feet. At just 11 weeks old, he's settling into his new home at the Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust kennels in Swanson, where he'll be trained to become the lifelong companion and aid to a disabled person.
Eventually he'll be able to pull a wheelchair, put clothes in a dryer, remove shoes and socks, carry a wallet to pay for shopping purchases and pick up items as small as eftpos cards. As if on cue, 16-month-old Koko demonstrates for The Aucklander.
The dogs' trainer, Natalie Ramm, started out as a graphic designer at TV3 before illness led to a career change.
``I was in a mountain bike race and I became severely dehydrated. I got really sick and was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. After nine months I wasn't getting any better,'' says Ms Ramm.
It was while watching an episode of Oprah, featuring the work of assistance dogs, that Ms Ramm had the idea to introduce something similar in New Zealand.
That was back in 2003. Now she ``does her passion for a job'', training dogs and matching them to people to assist with their disabilities.
``We match them based on the needs of the clients and the dogs' strengths. And personality. We wouldn't put a shy dog with an outgoing person. It's the one thing in life where the saying `opposites attract' doesn't work.''
In their first year, the dogs are placed with volunteers and taught ``general manners'' such as basic commands, behaving around other dogs and ignoring food unless it is fed to them.
From here, Ms Ramm trains the dogs with two 45-minute sessions each day plus outings to places like malls, parks and on public transport. She continues to visit the dogs after they have been matched with someone to assist with ongoing training.
Ms Ramm says retrievers and labradors are ideal for assistance work. ``They have a strong people focus, a strong
retrieval rate, and they don't have too much energy. Also, they've been used for the last 30 years overseas for this kind of work.''
As rewarding as training the dogs is, Ms Ramm says it's also the knowledge that they will provide a life change for the people they end up with.
``Most of the clients say they used to be quite nervous to go out in public and felt people would avoid eye contact with them because they're in a wheelchair. But with the dogs, they don't feel so isolated. People will go and strike up a conversation with them. They say they don't feel alone anymore...The dogs allow people to get out and live, just
live their lives to the full.''
HOW TO HELP
It costs $40,000 to train a dog over two years, and Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust aims to train 10 dogs each year.
Dependent on funding and donations, Ms Ramm says the trust has reached a point where it hopes to find a primary sponsor.
Recently, Mondo Travel came on board to help, and is holding a series of dinners in Auckland to raise funds for the dogs' training.
The next dinner ($99 for wine, food and entertainment) is at Marvel Grill, Wynyard Quarter, on Monday, April 30, at 6pm. Proceeds to the Mobility Dogs Assistance Trust. See mondotravel.co.nz/tastinglounge
To find out more about donating or volunteering for the Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust, go to www.mobilitydogs.co.nz
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