"I felt pretty awful at work one day and went home and my feet started turning blue and I was getting tingling sensations in my legs," he said.
Luckily, his wife was a registered nurse and recognised something was very drastically wrong so immediately called an ambulance.
He had contracted a severe bacterial infection due to a complication in a surgery he'd had 10 years prior that removed his spleen.
"It was completely unexpected. Before that day I was diving, playing squash, I was very active."
He stayed in Auckland City Hospital's Intensive Care Unit for a week before all four of his limbs had to be amputated.
"Looking back it was a bit of a blur with all the morphine. My wife took my contact lenses away from me so I couldn't see my hand which was a good move," Gould said.
After getting fitted with artificial limbs, Gould had to learn to walk again - and he did it with his one-year-old son.
"It began almost an adventure learning everything new together like eating, drinking, as well as walking."
Further down the track, Gould's brother even managed to teach him to drive again, with the help of the community he'd lived with in the UK who funded a car that was converted especially for Gould's use.
Looking back, Gould said a major part of his rehabilitation was his mobility dog Emmett.
"He does many tasks, he opens doors, barks for help – but the biggest thing he does for me is that he makes me feel confident in the community," Gould told the Herald.
Gould said he found that with Emmett he could go anywhere and people would come and talk to him instead of shying away.
"The best part about having Emmett is the companionship, he will stay by my side during the day, sit at my feet in the evening and then sleep on my bed at night," he said.
Now, he says it's his turn to give back.
For the last year Gould has been sharing his story in order to help raise funds for Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust so other people could benefit from dogs like Emmett.
Most recently, Gould has been a part of Animates "Tree for Hope" campaign encouraging Kiwi's to purchase $3, $5 or $10 joy, love and hope baubles to hang on the in-store Christmas tree.
The funds raised were donated to the SPCA and the Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust, enabling them to continue their valuable work improving the lives of animals and people in need.
MADT general manager Jody Wilson said Gould had been an active supporter of the trust and they were delighted he had been so willing to share his story and help fundraise.
"He was always out in the community talking about how much his dog has helped him and telling people about the work we do, which is hugely beneficially to us," she said.
Mobility dogs were trained to provide assistance with everyday tasks for New Zealanders living with disabilities including muscular dystrophy, stroke, Parkinson's disease, spinal cord injuries and cerebral palsy.
About the Mobility Assistance Dogs Trust:
• Independent charity that relies on solely on donations.
• Each dog takes two years to train and costs around $15,000.
• Less than half of the dogs trained are able to be paired with people living with a disability due to health and safety.
• At the moment, there are around 60 dogs partnered, around 10 dogs are given out each year.
• Although based in Auckland, the trust provides trained mobility dogs to people nationwide and has been operating for the last 14 years.
