Basingstoke ObserverA Cocker Spaniel from Hook is to be honoured by vet charity PDSA for his exceptional devotion to duty and outstanding service to society.
The PDSA Order of Merit celebrates extraordinary animals who demonstrate the unique bond between animals and humans. Eight-year-old Jerry is a Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Assistance Dog who is to receive the PDSA Order of Merit for his exceptional life-changing work with his owner, and other veterans who live with physical injuries and PTSD.
Jerry’s owner, Mark Lanchbery, 60, suffered serious, life-changing injuries in 2008, while serving with the British Army. After a visit to a Help the Heroes recovery centre, Mark met a friend with a PTSD Assistance Dog, leading him to investigate a support dog of his own. Jerry and Mark trained with Service Dogs UK (SDUK) programme, a charity which trains and provides PTSD Assistance Dogs for veterans of the Armed Forces and Emergency Services. After nine months of intensive training, Mark and Jerry became a fully qualified assistance dog team and now mentor other service dogs and veteran pairings.
Mark said: “It is an honour to receive the PDSA Order of Merit for Jerry, myself and Service Dogs UK, Having Jerry gives me and many other veterans a reason to take on life and learn to laugh and smile again.”
Garry Botterill, Founder, Service Dogs UK, said: “Jerry is an incredible assistance dog for Mark and is a shining example to our other dogs and veterans of what can be achieved. He is an inspirational character that exemplifies the charity and the standards we strive for at Service Dogs UK. We are hugely honoured for Jerry to be receiving the PDSA Order of Merit and very thankful of his service as a ‘beacon of hope’ for veterans with PTSD in the UK.”
Nina Downing, PDSA Vet Nurse said: “Jerry’s close partnership with his owner is a wonderful example of the vital role animals play in supporting our wellbeing and assisting those in need of help to benefit society. They are thoroughly deserving recipients of the PDSA Order of Merit.”
The citation for Jerry’s award reads:‘For life-changing devotion to his owner Mark Lanchbery, as a PTSD Assistance Dog and for his work as a veteran mentor with Service Dogs UK.
He will be awarded at a special ceremony on 14 July, alongside four other dogs, receiving the same prestigious medal.
