Rafa makes the grade

Rafa, a beautiful Goldendoodle/Labradoodle cross, is “a bit of a rock star on campus” as he is well-known at Bath Spa University, where owner Anne works. 

Anne, is a senior law lecturer who has worked with the United Nations during her vast career both in the UK and her native US. 

She has Ehlers Danlos syndrome, which gives her skeletal instability. 

Without support dog Rafa, Anne may well be facing life in a wheelchair, as the slightest fall could be catastrophic. 

But Anne, who lives in Bath, says not only does Rafa help her with practical tasks, such as fetching her phone, the TV remote and taking her shoes and socks off for her, having him helps her stability. 

“Now when I’m walking with him, it’s as if my brain feels as though there’s an extra body part on the ground, and it’s re-opened up my sensory and motor pathways. 

“I can hold onto Rafa and he stops me from falling.” 

Having Rafa in his coveted blue Support Dogs jacket also signals to others that she is “part of a vulnerable population” when she is out and about. 

“People are much kinder and it eases my anxiety,” said Anne. 

“Rafa helps me walk and helps me with tasks, but he’s also helped me grow as a person and reclaim some of my life,” added the mother-of-two. 

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