Peggy the 'miracle support dog' brings sunnier times for Rugby family

‘Noah now has the confidence to get out and about, and has found a comfort in his furry friend’
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A Rugby schoolboy with autism calls his support dog Peggy his ‘miracle dog’.

Since May last year, the pooch has provided a crux to Noah Shone, eight, and his family.

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His parents picked up on their son’s behaviour during the coronavirus when they started home schooling.

Best friends..Noah and Peggy have a snuggle.Best friends..Noah and Peggy have a snuggle.
Best friends..Noah and Peggy have a snuggle.

Mum Kay said: “He’s very good at masking – at school he was the perfect child, but when he got home, we had the ‘explosions’. During lockdown we noticed it more as he was with us all the time."

Noah got germ-phobic over lockdown, which didn’t help with his nerves.

In particular, he didn’t like being given instructions, known as Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), and getting him to leave the house was impossible.

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Noah’s outlook is now much brighter, thanks to the loveable two-year-old Labrador, trained and provided by national charity, Support Dogs.

The family with Peggy.The family with Peggy.
The family with Peggy.

Thanks to Peggy, Noah now has the confidence to get out and about, and has found a comfort in his furry friend.

“She’s just completely changed our lives,” said Kay.

“Previously, Noah would stay in and didn’t want to go anywhere at weekends.

“Now we are off out doing all sorts of things he had never tried before – we have been to ski slopes, I’ve sat and watched Noah toboggan and we have been on holiday twice.

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“It was the thought of going out of the house – even if it was for something he really wanted to do. When it got to the time to leave, he didn’t want to do it and just stayed here."

Having his best friend next to him has given Noah the bit of confidence he needs to get out and about.

Kay added: “If anything does go wrong, he can have a cuddle with her. He felt people were looking at him and was conscious of social situations.

“But now, he can focus on Peggy and he’s not concerned about what’s going on around him.”

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Kay and her husband Robert realised the pressure of school really increased Noah’s anxiety, and soon after, they got an autistic diagnosis via private healthcare.

The parents spent a long time online researching ways to help their little boy, when up popped Support Dogs.

“Noah comes back from school and needs to decompress, and I’d read all these things about how good dogs could be at home, and we knew he liked dogs,” said Kay.

She applied, but missed out on the selection process by one place.However, after another applicant dropped out, they were accepted on to the application process – not long before the charity’s maximum age cut-off point.

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After a period of training, Peggy was matched with Noah and Peggy in March last year, and two months later, the pooch went to live with the family.

They qualified as a partnership in October.

“It was good to lose the ‘L’ badge,” said Kay.

“Noah is so proud of her.”

Describing the difference the charity, Support Dogs, has made to the family, Kay said: “They are just amazing.

“I couldn’t put into words how much they have changed our lives – it’s just fantastic, and not just Noah’s life, but the whole family.

“When Noah’s asleep, we’ve still got Peggy – he’s lovely to sit with and calm down and chill out with.

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“If anyone can support them at all, they really should – they’re miracle workers.”

To find out more about Support Dogs and its life-changing work for families affected by autism, epilepsy and disability, please visit www.supportdogs.org.uk/autism-assistance

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