Ralph, the owner trained, multi-tasking assistance dog

With long waiting lists for autism assistance dogs and medical alert dogs, and little prospect of getting one, teenager Ella Walker decided to train her own.

Meet Ralph, a multi-tasking medical alert and assistance dog, who’s just perfect for Ella.

They've been together since golden retriever Ralph was less than a year old. Since then, Ella has focused on training him for a range of specialist tasks and functions, with the help and support form her family and others.

Ella explains why she always has her eye on the next milestone for Ralph. 

• Assistance Dogs UK is an umbrella organisation for many assistance dogs charities 

Connected Episodes: 

More detail and photos at shineradio.uk/dogswithjobs.

Other support dogs and assistance dogs:

• Darcey the Canine Partner support dog and her owner, a relationship in full bloom 
• Benjy the trainee guide dog and his first five weeks on the job;
• Daisy, an autism assistance dog who works with a non-verbal autistic teenager; 
• Cashel, the autism assistance dog who works with an actor;
• E.T., the military assistance dog who works with a veteran;
• Medical alert detection dogs and their lives before they start work;
• Breck, the guide dog and what a mature guiding partnership looks like.

Find more dogs with interesting jobs. 

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