Banbury assistance dog 'is my inspiration for getting up in the morning' - says disabled athlete

Simon Cook, from Bicester, was paired with his assistance dog, Axel, last autumn and now he says the dog has renewed his enthusiasm for life.

Mr Cook, 58, was paralysed from the waist down when he was in his 20s and later became a paraplegic athlete, holding the British Record for class F7 Shot put in 1999.

He struggled with loneliness and isolation during the first lockdown but things changed for the better when he got Axel last September.

Axel was trained by specialists at the Banbury-based Dogs for Good - a charity that creates life-changing differences for people living with a wide range of disabilities and conditions including autism, physical disabilities, dementia and learning disabilities, through the help of a specially trained dog.

The charity’s assistance and community dogs enable people to live more independently.

Mr Cook has an unknown neurological disease which spread through his body and as a result he uses a wheelchair to help him get around.

When he was a child his ankles would break regularly. When he was 17-years-old he had several operations and doctors managed to get him walking again with the aid of calipers. However when he was in his late 20s he returned home from work one night with severe back pain.

Mr Cook said: “I told my wife my back was aching; the pain was horrific, it was like an explosion in my spine. I must have passed out because the next thing I knew I woke up in a hospital bed.

“That was when the doctors told me I was paralysed from the waist down, I was devastated, it was a huge blow because I was still so young and my life changed overnight.”

Prior to this Mr Cook had worked as an assistant golf professional.

Mr Cook's physical situation has had an impact on his personal relationships and sadly his most recent relationship broke down just before the first lockdown in March 2020. He struggled with social isolation and loneliness during the first seven months of the pandemic.

In 2019 he had applied for an assistance dog from Dogs for Good. Because he’d had dogs all his life, he knew the unconditional love that a four-legged friend can bring.

Dogs for Good were able to find the perfect match for Simon in the form of handsome yellow Labrador retriever cross. Axel arrived just before the second lockdown, changing everything for the better.

Mr Cook said: “The first time I met Axel he was so affectionate and it just felt so good, I knew he was the perfect dog for me. I was thrilled to welcome him into my life, I’ll never forget the day he arrived, he just changed everything for me overnight.

“Having Axel in the second lockdown improved my life beyond measure, I suddenly found myself wanting to go out and enjoy life and because I had Axel I met so many new people and made loads of friends.”

Every assistance dog is specially trained to help with practical tasks that many people with disabilities find difficult or impossible to do, such as opening and closing doors, helping with dressing and undressing, retrieving items such as mobile telephones or dropped items like keys or a bag, loading and emptying the washing machine, pressing a pedestrian crossing button and reaching up to shop-counters with items such as a wallet.

Mr Cook said: “Axel goes everywhere with me now, to hospital appointments, to the pub, on trips to Scotland and shopping; we are inseparable. He’s the inspiration for me getting up in the morning, it’s as simple as that.

“He keeps me going and literally picks up anything I drop from my mobile phone to the TV control. He even picked up a packet of sausages in the supermarket for me recently. He astounds me every time he performs a task that I didn’t know he could do. But most importantly he’s my best friend.

“My outlook on life has changed since getting Axel and I am now getting out and about walking with him. We have a great life together.”

* After adjusting to life in a wheelchair Simon became a paraplegic athlete and he took part in the relay Saint James 95, a wheelchair push from Paris to Spain following the Old Pilgrims route. Then he was invited to compete in a regional competition when he won silver for shotput, discus and Javelin.

After doing athletics all around the south and south-west he was invited to Stoke Mandeville to train with the athletes once a month and he became the British Record holder of class F7 Shot put in September 1999.