Sheffield-trained assistance sausage dog Chorizo graduates so wheelchair-using owner can now leave home alone

A dachshund trained at a Sheffield disability charity has graduated as an assistance dog.

Sausage dog Chorizo recently graduated with her owner, Heather, from Support Dogs’ disability assistance programme.

Heather, who has Multiple Sclerosis and uses a wheelchair, can now leave the house on her own thanks to Chorizo.

Nicola Wood, an instructor with Support Dogs, said: “She opens and closes a door in the client’s house which is impossible for her to do in a wheelchair, and picks up Heather’s phone and keys when she drops them.

“She also walks beside her leg, which has nerve damage, ensuring no one can bang into it.”

The charity provides and trains assistance dogs, to help adults with epilepsy or a physical disability and autistic children.

Heather has a dachshund shrine at home, which includes a sausage dog-themed gravy pot, plant pots, Lego, lights, trinket box and cork opener.

She was diagnosed with MS in 2016 and began using a wheelchair a year later.

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Her condition left her with huge amounts of pain in her leg and she was scared to go out for fear of it getting knocked.

Nicola added: “Now, Heather is much less anxious, so she doesn’t panic as much. Before, she wasn’t really present in the situation and would be too worried and watching for people.

“Chorizo was a pleasure to train. She was such a quick learner and can do everything a bigger dog can do, within reason.

“Chorizo is a good example of the variety of dogs that we train to assist their owners in lots of different ways. It’s not just Labradors that make good assistance dogs.”

Heather and Chorizo follow in the pawprints of a number of non-conventional pairings, including Lhasa apso Tinks and owner Charli, as seen on CBeebies’ Dog Squad.

To find out more about the work of Support Dogs, please visit their website or call 0114 2617800.