Aroundtown MEETS


either at Adrian’s home or elsewhere, three end of life visits plus a trip to the school in Wakefield all in a week’s work.


Their work takes them across the country and Adrian is getting enquiries to help other conditions such as anxiety or learning disabilities. “When people ask if we can help, all I say is let’s give it a go and see what happens. There has only ever been one person who Thunder refused to go to and it was at a mental violence unit. No matter how hard I tried, he just wouldn’t go near him and the man seemed fine to me. But it turned out he was a murderer so if that doesn’t tell you that dogs look inside a person then I don’t know what does.”


The huskies love unconditionally without expecting anything in return. There are no ulterior motives, just a need to please.


But for Adrian, the dogs are his babies and he knows when they’ve had enough.


“I joke that they’ve got an in-built alarm clock as they always squeak when an hour has passed and that’s when I know it’s time to go home.” Adrian also needs to be mindful of temperatures as most clinical or care settings can be warm, which isn’t ideal for a husky with a double coat made for cold climates.


‘‘In honour of the remarkable work that Therapy Huskies does, Adrian and the awesome foursome were recently nominated for the Proud of Barnsley Exceptional Achievement award which they won back in November.’’


As very intelligent animals, huskies can be difficult to train. But a lot of the training Adrian has done is tailored around real life scenarios; however, some situations cannot be recreated such as death or mental health problems. Most pet dogs are trained to give a paw, but the Therapy Huskies are not. This is because their claws may cause skin tears on the elderly or those with fragile skin.


“They know they’re not allowed and they don’t want to if you ask them to do it, but they do because they just want to please.” Due to the nature of their work and the vulnerable people they meet, the dogs are on a very strict diet and hygiene regime for disease control.


They cannot have raw food due to the risk of passing on salmonella so they eat a combination of frozen chicken and steak along with cooked ham and grated cheese. They also have a dry mix imported from Italy that contains all the right vitamins.


Before meeting anyone, the dogs have an antibacterial spray applied to their mouths and each dog has its own deodorant.


Caring for one dog takes up a lot of time for the average household but looking after four huskies is a full-time job in itself. They need to be walked for 12 to 15 miles a day, usually spread out over five walks, with each day starting around 5am.


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Before we arrived to meet them at 9.15am one Thursday morning, they had already had two of their five walks covering around four miles. However, they are never allowed off the lead due to their heritage as working dogs. Huskies originate from the indigenous Chukchi people who used the dogs to pull sleds during the winter where they would be fed frozen fish and blubber. As the summer months arrived, they would be unclipped to go in search of food. These instincts can still be found today and being unclipped from the lead may result in a husky running off.


Despite their majestic and striking presence and resemblance to a wolf, they are not a fearful breed of dog. They can be hyper yet calm and would play all day given the chance. “Even those people who are terrified of dogs usually end up hugging them by the time our sessions end.” With the life expectancy of a husky around 14, Adrian is realistic of the dogs’ future capabilities. Their wellbeing is just as important as the people they help. At the beginning, he set a ten-year plan, not wanting the dogs to be working in their old age.


Stormy is now nine and slowing down on her duties, while her pups are now five so Adrian is keen to work on his own attributes to give his initiative longevity.


Adrian currently works as a freelance photographer which he has done since 2009 and manages the dogs’ diaries around his bookings. However, he would love to be able to devote his full-time efforts to Therapy Huskies in the future if it can be financially sustainable.


He is starting a counselling course at Barnsley College to improve on the professional aspect of Therapy Huskies. “We meet such a varied mix of people and their families that sometimes I come out of the sessions wondering if I said the right thing. Having the correct knowledge behind me means I can hopefully create a counselling room at home where people can talk to me if they wish, or the


dogs if they don’t.”


Although they aren’t a registered charity, the amount they do charge for their services covers transport costs as well as the dogs’ living costs and any medical bills and insurance. Adrian has used his savings to cover a lot of the costs and tries to help anyone, regardless of their financial situation. People even stop him in the street to give him money for the dogs after hearing what they do and many people have chosen to donate or fundraise to keep Therapy Huskies going. “The one thing this journey has taught me is that we moan about mortgages, debts, relationships and fallouts but they are all insignificant compared to some of the people out there with real or complex issues.


“Thunder works with a lady in her 50s who has Huntington’s disease, is bed ridden, non-verbal and has no family or friends. Yet that visit from us sparks a flicker inside her and her eyes light up.” In honour of the remarkable work that Therapy Huskies does, Adrian and the awesome foursome were recently nominated for the Proud of Barnsley Exceptional Achievement award which they won back in November.


The dogs have brought pleasure to so many people’s lives, but they have also brought joy to Adrian’s personal life, too.


Through his work with Therapy Huskies, Adrian met his wife Claire who came up from Peterborough with her dad who has dementia. Claire still works full-time but she has devoted her spare time to Therapy Huskies and helps out at weekends and with training.


They married in 2018 with Thunder as best man and all four dogs at the ceremony in Barnsley. “They were all howling their heads off in church but the vicar was very understanding – they are God’s creatures after all.”


To see more of the wonderful work the dogs do, visit their Facebook page @TherapyHuskies.co.uk


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