CVS To Fundraise For Support Dogs During 2015

A Support Dog CVS has launched a year of fundraising among its practices for Support Dogs, a national charity dedicated to increasing the independence and quality of life for children and adults with some of the most challenging of conditions. Staff at all 275 of CVS' veterinary sites around the UK will help Support Dogs by raising awareness of its work, fundraising and attending the charity's own events throughout the year. During 2014, they raised more than £20,000 for the Retired Greyhound Trust. Support Dogs work in three key areas:

• It trains Autism Assistance Dogs to enable a child with autism, who may have limited sense of danger, to remain safe. The dogs also help reduce a child’s levels of anxiety, enabling them and their families to lead a more ‘normal’ and more independent life.
• It trains Disability Assistance Dogs to increase the level of independence for a person with a physical disability. Disability Assistance Dogs help with all aspects of life from washing, dressing, shopping and picking up objects, to raising the alarm. Support Dogs train the client's own pet dog for this programme.
• It is the only charity in the UK to train Seizure Alert Dogs. These dogs provide a reliable up to 50 minute warning to a client prior to an oncoming epileptic seizure.

Rita Howson, Chief Executive at Support Dogs, said: "We are thrilled that CVS has chosen Support Dogs as its charity this year. Support Dogs has a truly life- changing impact on all those we help and, as a result, we are experiencing an overwhelming demand for our work. We receive a plea for help every ten hours. "CVS' support will raise funds and support nationally so we can help many more families affected by autism, epilepsy or disability and who so desperately need our help." Simon Innes, CEO of CVS, added: "2014 was our most successful year of fund-raising yet but has only served to inspire us to do even better for Support Dogs this year. The support they provide to adults and children suffering from a range of challenging conditions is a fantastic example of how companion animals can really make a positive difference to people's lives. We looking forward to supporting the charity's work this year. "Our teams will be supporting Support Dogs at a local level and we look forward to welcoming representatives from the charity as special guests at our annual conference in November so that our employees can learn more about its work."

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