Why You Should Join the Great North Run to Raise Money for This Sheffield-based Charity
Newcastle's Sharon Horne is encouraging runners to join the Great North Run to raise money for national charity Support Dogs
Mother-of-four and grandmother-of-two Sharon works full time, and her miniature Labradoodle Frankie goes everywhere with her. Sharon trained Frankie like you would any other puppy, until she realised Frankie could also be trained to pick things up for her. ‘I wondered whether there was any support that could extend that so I did a bit of research and through a Google search found Support Dogs,’ she says. ‘I originally thought they only trained dogs for children with autism and [epilepsy seizure] alert, but I also found the programme they do for training pet dogs.’
Sharon has a neuro-muscular condition called congenital myasthenia, which leads to muscle weakness, making walking painful and leaving her feeling fatigued. Support Dogs trained Frankie to help Sharon and worked with her so she could continue Frankie’s training at home. ‘My trainer was always at the end of the phone – she was fabulous, in fact, all of them are. Any of them will answer a question if I call. They’re very knowledgable but very personable as well,’ explains Sharon. ‘Frankie is my dog and fits in with my life. After she was trained I needed to start to make things more targeted, for example Frankie could pick something up off the floor but if there were a few objects she didn’t know which one I was pointing at. So we came up with the idea of lasers to be more specific.’ Now Frankie can open and close doors, find Sharon’s mobile phone, pick up dropped items and bring her the post.
Sharon describes Frankie as ‘an absolute diva’ and ‘small but mighty’. ‘Everyone expects to see a big Labrador and she’s a small Labradoodle, but she can do the things that the big Labradors can do,’ she says. ‘All the little things she does helps prolong the amount of energy I’ve got throughout the day. It just means I’m a little bit less tired later on, or a little bit less aching and sore.
Although ballot places are gone, Support Dogs has places available for this year’s Great North Run and Sharon is urging runners of all levels to sign up for the North East’s world-famous half-marathon in the charity’s honour. Sharon took part in the second Great North Run in 1982. ‘I can really remember the atmosphere. It’s like nothing else on earth. Everyone is rooting for you, and it doesn’t matter who you are or where you come from, there’s people out lining the streets,’ she recalls. ‘Even though I was last, and so dehydrated, I was determined. I was getting to the end and there were still people there and they were still egging me on. There were three of us in the end, and we joined hands and passed the line together. The atmosphere was just fantastic.
‘Frankie is a fully qualified assistance dog now, however the charity are still there to support me and I just want to try and do something to support them. Unfortunately, I can’t run it myself (I’d be lucky to get to the start line, never mind the finish line), but anything I can do to support them to help get what they need is important. I hope people see the wonderful work this charity does and the ongoing support they offer, and run for me.’
The AJ Bell Great North Run takes place on Sunday 7th September and Support Dogs also has special discounts for those wanting to run with friends or family. A single place requires a £325 fundraising target, you can run with a friend for a target of £600, or a group of five can take part for a joint target of £1,500. ‘Last year, Team Support Dogs raised £12,000 via our fantastic Great North Run participants,’ says Tess Thompson, Support Dogs’ community fundraising manager. ‘Every penny raised goes towards training our specialist assistance dogs to help change the lives of autistic children, and adults affected by epilepsy or a physical disability. We hope we can raise even more this year, so we can help even more people.’
