They say dogs are a man’s best friend – and nowhere else does this apply more than for Maisie the Great Dane, who selflessly served the vulnerable of Greater Manchester.
Maisie died last year aged seven, but in her short life she touched many hearts in her work as a therapy dog for the Bury-based branch of charity Pets as Therapy (PAT).
Assisting owner Marie Liley, a 60-year-old local government officer, said that Maisie would visit those who were ill or lonely to brighten their day – yet she came from troubled beginnings.
“She was three years old when I found her – she was a rescued dog at RSPCA Somerset, and I wanted my dog at the time, Ted, to have a companion,” said Marie.
“However, when I first got her, she was very timid, she would only go up to people and say hello when Ted did.
“But when Ted died people asked me whether Maisie should become a PAT dog – I thought she would never be able to do it, I had real doubts but she proved me wrong.”
Marie trains dogs for the charity and is using Maisie as an example to her new class, set to pass in August, yet she admits she will be a hard example to follow.
“Really, she took to it instantly, visiting people all over – enjoyed people stroking her and as she got more confident we started visiting places like playschools, day centres and old people’s homes,” she said.
During her long and distinguished career, Maisie visited Killelea House, Cameron House, Bankfield House, Ainsworth Nursing Home, Elton Community Centre and Bury Hospice.
And according to Marie she never failed in being friendly, brightening everyone’s day with her affectionate manner.
“She would go round all the people and let them stroke her and give her treats,” she said.
“I always had to be careful with the treats, because I had to watch her weight!
“Doing this made the people at these places really happy – making them calm, relieving stress and bringing down their blood pressure.
“Her visits were particularly important in old people’s homes as a lot of people there had to give up their dogs through ill health, so to see another one again really made their day.”
Marie’s sentiment is shared by Cameron House care assistant Rachel Jepson, who felt Maisie’s contribution at her care home was invaluable.
“She was so gentle and good with the patients – honestly, she was a godsend,” she said.
“The residents were so upset when she died, they loved her that much. I’m a dog person anyway, but she was honestly great, dead calm despite the fact that a lot of the residents here have mental illnesses, just great all round really.”
“The people at the centre drew up a plan before we got there of what they wanted to achieve and we helped out.
“Maisie just sat there, in the corner of the room away from them and they got as close as they could to her, working off a ‘worry scale’, one being when they weren’t scared and ten being when they were terrified.
“As the fear grew, they backed off from her, but by the end the girls were getting close enough to touch – all the time Maisie was doing as asked, sitting there calmly.
“The girls’ therapy lasted six weeks, and by the end of that time they were stroking her, being friendly and giving Maisie treats – it was great to see.”
Such efforts saw Maisie nominated for the charity’s dog of the year and ended up in the last six, going to Crufts in 2011 to battle it out with other pooches.
“The places that we visit with PAT can nominate the ‘dog of the year,’ and the nominations came from everywhere, people, groups, individuals, everyone seemed to love her,” she said.
“Maisie was chosen as one of the final six of Crufts, eventually ending up as one of the runners-up.”
Tragically, Maisie died of bone cancer in November 2012, but Marie continues to treasure the time she spent with her remarkable pet.
“She was a really lovely dog, just really caring – it was after she had been visiting for a while that we went walking in the park,” she said.
“I noticed she would wait for elderly people to come up and stroke her – she was so gentle with everyone, all the time, at all these groups we used to go around when I explained Pets as Therapy.”
But Maisie’s legacy will continue to live on with Marie’s next generation of PAT dogs – set to become fully-fledged therapy dogs in August – and hopefully they can follow her wonderful example.
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