Charlie & Lona

Charlie's Mum, Rebecca

I can’t believe it’s been 7 and a half years since Iona came into our lives and in February 2025, she turned 9. This year, we have made the decision that the best present we can give Iona is to let her retire as an Assistance Dog and live out her last years as our beloved family pet.

This decision wasn’t made lightly, and in fact is one we first agreed on last year, so we have spent the last year weaning both Iona and Charlie from each other (they’d literally been physically attached for 6 and a half years, so it was bound to take some adjusting to).

I don’t think I can fully put into words how much Iona joining our family changed us. At the beginning, when I initially applied for an Assistance Dog, we were at rock bottom. Charlie was 4 and a half at the time and a bolter, and I also had Alfie, who was just 15 months old. We had become prisoners in our own home, and when we did get out, Charlie was confined to a buggy and had low muscle tone because we had had too many near misses with him escaping from us and running in front of cars.

And then Iona came into our lives. At our first meeting, it was love at first sight for both, to the point that when we left the Training Centre Charlie cried all the way to the Mitchelstown exit. In August 2017, I travelled to Ballincollig and spent a week training with Iona. I remember the first day one of the trainers brought her to my room and handed her to me and said she’d be back in an hour – I won’t lie, I did have a panic moment of “Oh god, can I do this?”, but after 5 days in the Centre with her trainer, I left on the Friday for Wicklow with my new best friend, to bring her back to our home, and really start our journey.

I have a beautiful video of Alfie when he sees us arrive home, he’s jumping up and down at the window as I get out of the car and then he freezes when he sees me walk Iona up to the front door. When I eventually got Iona in the door Charlie melted into her, and in fact fell asleep on the floor beside her that night.

After 2 weeks, I finally got the courage to pack Charlie, Alfie, Iona and a single buggy into the car and attempt Dundrum Shopping Centre on my own. The last time I had tried to do this, not only did I have a double buggy with me, but we had to leave after half an hour because Charlie couldn’t handle it and ended up screaming the place down. However, this trip was so different. We spent two hours walking around the shops, going to McDonalds and for the first time I enjoyed being a mammy out with her two boys. This was just the start of our match made in heaven.

Over the years we have managed to do so much that we know would never have been possible without Iona. From visiting Santa, to changing schools, to family days out, to dental visits and to hospital admissions…. Iona has been by Charlie’s side through it all and she has taught him not to be scared and not to bolt.

Charlie is now 12 and a half and I don’t know where the last 7 and a half years have gone. He's almost as tall as me and is attending New Court Special School in Bray. He finally started talking just before his 11th birthday and he regularly says, “Iona is my best friend. She is my puppy. I love her so much”.

As parents, we can’t thank everyone enough who made it possible for Iona to be in our lives. She has brought so much happiness to us. She allowed Charlie to experience a world that he could be safe in, and she helped put our minds at rest that Charlie was safe.

Over the years, I enjoyed being involved in the corporate events with IGDB - it was lovely to feel like I was giving back. It gave me an opportunity to share how much the charity changed our lives for the better!!!

Charlie and Iona did their own fundraising event during the first Covid lockdown called Charlie’s Challenge. They walked 150km in 30 days, and they raised almost €3,000.

After we agreed on Iona's retirement date, we wanted to mark it by doing another fundraiser. So, for her last 28 days as a working dog, we walked 150km over the 28 days.

Iona was the first dog sponsored by Dell Technologies in Cork (to them, she was known as GEM) and over the years, I have kept in touch with Donal Hannigan, so he has seen what she has brought to our family. I don't think people realise how important corporate sponsorship is.

I want to thank you and all at IGDB from the bottom of our hearts for giving us the opportunity of Iona and for changing all our lives for the better. The work that IGDB does can never fully be measured but it has touched our family in more ways than one (my parents adopted rehomed Guide Dog Olaf 18 months ago and he is bringing so much happiness to them and us, not to mention Iona - they are best friends!). For our boy Charlie, Iona has not only kept him safe, but he has also had a best friend in Iona at a time when he had no friends outside of family.