Providing opportunities to realise the potential in ourselves and others

Less wobbly than I was but I still get some wobbles on!

Jenny on the left and Antnz on the right are sitting on seats, between them crouching is Shell and Wendy our Guides. Everyone is smiling. Antnz and Wendy are wearing medals. Guide Dog Devon and ADNZ Raven are lying in front of them.

February got off to a bit of a wobbly start, after a pretty consistent couple of months I had a rehab reassessment. I wanted to take a snapshot of where I am at, with my undiagnosed heart blip taken into account, I needed some more certainty about how to train safely yet still be able […]

Mid-Year months of Madness!

A picture of a tui sitting in fuchsia tree. The tui is looking straight down the lens. The background is grayscale.

June kicked off with a hiss and a roar! I kicked the month off with another “Intro to Enabling Good Lives (EGL)” down in Wellington with Imagine Better for District Health Board (DHB) staff. We had a good cross-section of Children’s Hospital staff; including, OTs, physios, nurses, and a paediatrician. We also had a handful […]

CHAOS seems to be the theme of 2020

A picture looking down towards the ground. ADNZ Raven is looking at camera with her tongue poking out slightly. On Antnz left shoe, a plastic brace is attached to above toes. ADNZ Raven's harness and lead are lying on the grasswith a tennis ball,

Once again it feels like just the other I sat down and got stuck into writing a blog, but in reality it’s been awhile since my last one. For me life had been in this weird space of both carrying on and being on pause. While we in New Zealand have seemingly successfully navigated Levels […]

Assistance Dogs NZ Team Training: Day 2

We haven’t had a lot of opportunity to do public access with Assistance Dogs NZ (ADNZ) Raven while we’ve been on lock-down, and today she rocked it in her new harness. ADNZ Raven’s physiology is different to ADNZ Ben so we’ve been getting the set up right for her public mobility tasks. If you would […]

ADNZ Raven Team Training Day 1

We’ve been together a wee while now, but lockdown prevented the face to face time with a trainer. We’re off to a good start today.

Out for a walk. Level 4, Covid19 Alert

On the top left is the lettering "Level Four Covid Alert Walkies". Below the lettering stands ADNZ Raven to her waist, wearing her blue ADNZ jacket looking across frame. Antnz blue sweat pants are seen to the right of Raven, you can just see Antnz wheelchair.

I’ve finally dragged out the GoPro and been taking some footage here and there. This was us getting out on a “government approved exercise” walk on the 23rd April. Assistance Dogs NZ Raven is still getting used to this route and where the barking dogs live. I needed to get my editing groove on again, […]

Life is a Series of Chapters; A tribute to Assistance Dogs NZ Ben

A close up of ADNZ Ben looking at camera

Its time for one chapter to close, and another to open. If you have met me over the last 6 or 7 years you will have also met my sidekick, Assistance Dogs NZ Trust (ADNZ) Ben. ADNZ Ben has been with me through many ups and many downs over the years, but the reality is […]

January started quietly then ramped up!

Gary Williams (left) and Jade Farrar in the midst of a conversation

It’s been an intense couple of weeks that’s for sure! So after taking it easy for a few months it’s time for me to start putting my toes back in the waters of Enabling Good Lives and being more active again in taking control of what I can control and try to let go of […]