Dog from Hook to be awarded by PDSA charity

Cocker Spaniel Jerry is a post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) assistance dog and is set to receive the PDSA Order of Merit - which celebrates extraordinary animals who demonstrate the unique bond between animals and humans – at a special ceremony on July 14.

Eight-year-old Jerry was matched with his owner Mark Lanchbery who suffered with 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 finding a support dog of his own.

Jerry and 60-year-old Mark trained with Service Dogs UK (SDUK), a charity which trains and provides PTST 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 of 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.”

Also receiving an award at the ceremony is 14-year-old border collie Zak, a retired search and rescue dog from Southampton, who, with his owner Kev Saunders, attended more than 300 searches during his 11-year career.

Zak started training at just nine-weeks-old with the voluntary organisation, Hampshire Search and Rescue Dogs with Kev, in 2009.

He was trained to search for hurt and distressed missing people, able to cover a search area in a fraction of the time that a human search party could.

He was deployed to his first search just a week after completing his training and has gone on to carry out searches in counties including Hampshire and Dorset.

Zak’s keen senses and quick actions have helped rescue high risk, vulnerable missing people including children, those with dementia, and people with mental health complexities.

Zak’s owner, Kev, was recognised with an MBE for his services to Hampshire Search and Rescue Dogs in 2020.

He said: “Zak is my world and absolutely epitomises the important role of search and rescue dogs in the UK. I am unbelievably proud to see him recognised by PDSA in this way as he retires, and to see him put on a pedestal that he wholeheartedly deserves to be on.”

Hampshire Constabulary’s deputy chief constable, Ben Snuggs, said: “I am absolutely delighted that Zak, a long-sanding member of Hampshire Search and Rescue Dogs, has been recognised by PDSA in this way.

“I am very clear that with the rescue organisation and its unwavering support, we are far more effective in searching for vulnerable missing people an preventing them from coming to harm.

“We, and the countless individuals he has helped, owe Zak a huge debt of gratitude, and I know that all my colleagues in Hampshire Constabulary will join in celebrating and congratulating Zak and Kev for being honoured with the prestigious PDSA Order of Merit.”

Nina Downing, a vet nurse with PDSA, said Jerry and Zak are both “thoroughly deserving recipients” of the award.

She added: “Zak and Jerry’s close partnership with their owners are wonderful examples of the vital role animals play in supporting our wellbeing and assisting those in need of help to benefit society.”

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