A 21-year-old from Banbridge is raising awareness of the health benefits of spending time with a pet after witnessing the positive impact first-hand.
For Cathal Burke saw a change in his mum who has been ill for 15 years when the family took in a bull mastiff dog called Bubba.
So Cathal has teamed up with Fixers with a group of his friends, the charity that gives young people a voice, to get his message across.
Cathal explained: “My mum suffers from fibromyalgia, arthritis, chronic back pain and mental issues.
“She gets brain fog and her thoughts become jumbled and quite difficult to comprehend.
“After we got a dog, I noticed that my mum was more at ease especially when she was stroking him. It helps to focus her mind a bit.”
Noreen McComiskey, learning disability specialist services manager at the Southern Health and Social Care Trust, is supporting Cathal’s campaign. She said that she has seen the positive effects dogs have on people and added: “I definitely believe that animals are a therapy and the people with a learning disability get so much out of them.
“The animals provide that comfort, that friend that they can talk to who doesn’t talk back, who understands, who shows empathy by licking the hand, allowing them to stroke.
“It’s a very special bond between a human and an animal.”
Cathal added: “I’ve seen my dog help my mother who suffers from physical and mental disabilities and it’s spurred me forward to try to promote this idea of feeling better with pets.
“We hope to raise awareness about animals being used in therapy… they can be so much more than a family pet.”
Fixers works with young people aged 16-25 across the UK by providing them with resources to help them campaign on issues they feel strongly about.
The charity has helped more than 19,000 youngsters across the UK to have a voice in their community on issues such as cyber-bullying, self-harm, suicide or transphobia.
For more information or to make a donation to fund more Fixer projects, visit:
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Since 2008 more than 19,000 young people in England have become Fixers and created around 2,000 projects. With a £7.2 million grant from the Big Lottery Fund, Fixers extended into Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland in 2013.
“Fixers started in 2008 as just an idea… an idea given a voice by some 19,000 young people over the past five years,” said Margo Horsley, Chief Executive of Fixers.
“They have reached thousands of people with their work, on a national stage as well as in and around where they live. They choose the full array of social and health issues facing society today and set about making their mark. Fixers are always courageous and their ideas can be challenging and life-changing, not just for themselves.”
There are lots more stories about young people doing great things on the Fixers website, Twitter and Facebook pages:
