Walking through Eccles today I spotted local celebrity Joy Watson, who has become the de facto spokesperson for living with dementia.
With her was a tiny little black and white pup wearing a blue ‘TRAINING’ jacket: meet 16-week-old pedigree labradoodle Demi, the dementia support dog.
Normally dementia support dogs are trained by professionals, but it’s thought that Joy is the first person in the country to be living with dementia who is training her own dog.
“She sleeps in my room, she’s been with me all the time,” said Joy, who was diagnosed with dementia two years ago, at the age of 55.
“She’ll be taught to remind me to take my medication, because eventually I won’t be able to remember.”
On bad days Joy is unable to remember the names of her grandchildren or whether she has brushed her teeth.
Joy and husband Tony, who joined the Salford Dementia Action Alliance, specifically chose the labradoodle crossbreed, firstly because laboradors are easy to train, and secondly because poodles don’t shed hair.
“If I’m taking her into care homes, which I will do, it’ll be an issue. It’s just a case of having to think about all these new things,” she said.
The couple are originally from Kent but now live in Eccles.
Joy had just returned from a “fantastic” stay at the Salfordian hotel, a respite home in Southport which offers free stays for Salford people.
It started for Joy when she got concerned over her increasing forgetgulness, and found herself feeling panicked and rushed when going through check-outs and finding change.
Things got so serious she made a badge for herself which reads, ‘I’ve got Alzheimer’s, please be patient’.
Joy and Tony set up the Dementia Havens to be the first port of call for people living with the condition.
Between them they put Eccles on the map in 2014, making it one of the first towns in the country to be ‘dementia friendly’, signing up 100 local shops to the cause.
Demi – who is still getting used to Eccles – has been training already for four weeks. She’s a bundle of energy and wagging tail, but sits politely for 20 seconds while I take her picture.
There’s so many new things to consider when you’re living with dementia.
“We specifically chose the name ‘Demi’ after what a speech therapist said; you can’t have a name like ‘Sally’ as it’s quite difficult to say and get your mouth around.
“Ideally it would be one syllable only, like ‘Dem’, but it’s easier for training with two syllables.”
It’ll take some two or three years until the pup is fully trained, says Joy.
Dogs like Demi can help people with dementia to stick to their waking, sleeping and eating routines, which are crucial for maintaining a semblance of normality.
There’s also the benefit of keeping them active and engaged, improving confidence and providing a constant companion who helps reassure them in new and unfamiliar surroundings.
Find out more about Salford Dementia Action Alliance here
