Last week the BBC reported on French court dog Lol, a five-year-old Labrador who provides support to victims in court. Lawyers across the channel thought it was a brilliant idea, as did former Victims’ Commissioner Baroness Newlove, who highlighted the work of Justice Support Dogs International Lab (JSDI), which promotes the use of professionally trained facility dogs in the UK criminal justice system.
According to JSDI’s website, facility dogs have been helping vulnerable people participate in stressful legal proceedings across north America since 2004. There are now around 300 dogs working across 40 states and provinces in the US and Canada. JSDI’s mission is to build an evidence base so that the use of justice facility dogs begins to grow worldwide.
Dogsbody Grooming, Goodwick, wins at Animal Star Awards
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Greenacres Animal Rescue wins Animal Star Award
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A Westbrook youngster has scooped a national lockdown hero award and been featured as part of the RSPB’s coverage of British Science Week. Aneeshwar Kunchala spent lockdown 1.0 raising funds with a cricket and cycling challenge, with his efforts being recognised by MPs, the UK and England Cricket Board and Pride of Britain as well as Pride of Sport, the British Deputy High Commissioner and the Indian Prime Minister. Now, the six-year-old has been named Animal Start Award Lockdown Hero 2021 week 8 winner, after he launched a campaign to reduce single-use plastic at the end of last year. Aneeshwar was so moved by images he saw at school that showed a whale eating plastic and dying on a beach that he started Quit Plastic 360, encouraging people to reduce or stop using single-use plastic.
A woman and her assistance dog have been nominated for a national award.
Amersham-based Ruth Spurr, and her four-legged friend, Willow, are finalists at the Animal Star Awards – a ceremony that highlights the extraordinary things that animals have done for humans. The duo is one of just a handful of finalists for the Best Pet Blogger/Blog category from over 480 nominees. They are also clients from the Assistance Dog Charity Dog A.I.D. Upon discovering that she and Willow had been shortlisted, Ruth, who has Ehlers Danlos Syndrome and PoTs, said: “I know there are many more blogs out there with thousands more followers and views and then there’s little old us here at Walking with Willow with 750 likes and followers , but, from starting at nothing with just one or two to 750 is huge for us and I love the little community we’ve built.