When Karen Jones heard the terrible news of the Manchester Arena bombing she knew she had to do something - and she knew just who would help her.
The dog lover recruited her team of seven (yes seven) Shiba Inus to visit Manchester Children’s Hospital to support victims, as well as officers, nurses and staff at the hospital.
She added: “Everyone felt helpless, but I wanted to do something, and so I got in touch and went through all the clearance and we visited the patients and the staff.
“They just relax people, you can see the police officers straightaway, they relax. Petting an animal releases oxytocin in the brain and calms you down, and the people we visit often say ‘it's just what we needed’.
"When people have a visit from the dogs they leave with a smile on there face. Their whole persona changes and they’ll often tell me they feel like a different person."
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And Karen knows herself the effect her dogs have on other people, after they helped her through heartbreak. She said: "The dogs are my fur babies and got me through a very messy breakup with my ex partner. I don’t know what I would have done without them."
Karen, from Ashton-in-Makerfield, and her pack of hounds now work alongside Merseyside Police, having assisted call handlers and officers following a number of critical, high profile cases. She also takes her dogs to several public events in addition to visiting a special needs school.
But alongside providing wellbeing and support to NHS and emergency service staff, Karen has twice trained her dogs to be UK champions in their class at Crufts and she hopes to bring homes some more rosettes this week.
You may be able to spot Karen and her team on Channel 4’s Crufts coverage from March 9 to 12.
Karen, 57, fell in love with the breed - originally hunting dogs from Japan - at Crufts, the UKs most prestigious dog show 25 years ago.
But the breed was not common and she had to join a three-year waiting list before she got her first pup, Molly, from a breeder in 1997.
She has gone one to breed her own army of animals. Roxy will be 16 in May, while Karen also owns her son, Prince Harry ‘the naughty ginger’, as well as his son Dennis (the menace), Dennis’ mum Diva, Diva’s daughter Riot, as well as latest recruit Rosie - Riot’s pup, and finally, Titchy Stryder.
All of the dogs have earned themselves lifetime entries to Crufts, and all bar Titchy are qualified therapy dogs who work with Merseyside Police on a regular basis.
Karen first registered her animals with the charity Pets as Therapy around 10 years ago. She said: “When you’re showing dogs, their temperament has to be second to none and you have to get them used to the noises and being around people to basically make them ‘bombproof’.
“I thought they’d be good as therapy dogs so I enrolled them, got them all assessed and started visiting a local care home, but it got a bit sad because a lot of old people were dying, and at the time I decided it wasn’t for me.”
Karen gave up her volunteering for a few years, but jumped straight back into action following the news of the Manchester Arena bombing, in 2017. She works as a rental development coordinator works for Briggs Equipment who provide forklifts and equipment for the AO Arena.
This year, 10 month old puppy Rosie and her mum, Riot, will be heading down to Birmingham with the hopes of extending their owner’s decorated record.
She added: “At six months old, Rosie went to her first show and qualified for Crufts, and in her second show she qualified for Crufts for next year. It's just such a special event and it's just lovely being there, it's just a great atmosphere.
“While some show dogs are put up for adoption after they retire, or live in kennels, mine don’t. They’re pets that win prizes and they all sleep on my bed.
“But they’re not just beautiful, they’re clever too, because they’re helping people. I get more out of seeing them make someone smile than them winning a red rosette.”
Crufts is held from 9-12 March 2023 at the NEC Birmingham. Viewers can follow all the action and highlights on Channel 4 and More4, and for further information and tickets visit crufts.org.uk
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