“We are a team,” says Cheryl Alexander of her canine partner, Tyrian, a beautiful black Labrador who celebrates his 11th birthday in February. “It would be easy, as a disabled person, to sit in this room for the rest of my life, but having an assistance dog gives me confidence to get out because we are a team.”
Despite his greying jowls, Tyrian is a bundle of playful energy, bounding out the front door and gifting me one of his cuddly toys upon my arrival, before positioning himself at Cheryl’s feet in the sitting room of her home in York.
For the next hour, Tyrian rarely takes his big brown eyes off her – partly out of loyalty and partly because of the bag of crunchy chicken treats nearby.
Tyrian, Cheryl’s black Labrador, celebrates his 11th birthday next February – Lorne Campbell/Guzelian
“I am his only source of treats so I have always got a bag on me, but he would do anything for me without them,” says Cheryl, 44, who was partnered with Tyrian in 2016 through Canine Partners, a charity that trains dogs to help people with physical disabilities.
Since 1990, the team has trained approximately 1,000 dogs to assist with everyday tasks.
“Part of the ongoing training is to keep them mentally stimulated. So, Tyrian’s been taught commands in different languages, he knows hand signals and understands the difference between his left and my left,” reveals Cheryl.
At home, he picks up dropped items, helps with the laundry and even fetches shoes. “It is pot-luck what shoes I get,” she admits.
“He helps with shopping too and likes to protect me from things that aren’t dangerous such as the big plastic reindeer that pops up outside a local café at Christmas. It’s the only time he barks.”
Tyrian also accompanies her to York High School where she teaches chemistry.
He stays in his own little office adjoining the science lab that is equipped with a memory foam bed, water and treats, unless he is needed. Typically, it is to pick up pen lids (“I’d be surrounded by them otherwise”) or collect items from students to give to Cheryl and vice versa.
Unsurprisingly, he is a big hit with the pupils. “If he’s wearing his purple Canine Partners jacket, the kids know not to acknowledge him. If his jacket’s off, they may ask to fuss him, so I make a point of taking him around without his jacket. And during GCSEs, I’ll ask: ‘Does anyone need puppy love?’ to help calm nerves.”
If Tyrian is wearing his purple jacket in school, Cheryl’s pupils know not to fuss or acknowledge him – Lorne Campbell/Guzelian
Tyrian is the second assistance dog Cheryl’s been paired with through Canine Partners. His predecessor was a serious-natured golden retriever named Orca whose heroic actions went beyond everyday duties – they saved Cheryl’s life.
In 2003, Cheryl and Orca were walking along a country track when her motorised wheelchair hit a rock, and she plunged waist-deep into a water-filled ditch. Pinned in her 300-pound chair, Cheryl sent Orca to get help.
“I didn’t think he’d be able to do it because so many things had to align. We were in the middle of nowhere on a rainy day. Not only did Orca need to find someone, but someone who would listen to him, and he had to do it before time ran out,” says Cheryl who had only been partnered with Orca a few weeks prior to the accident.
But like an episode of Lassie, Orca determinedly set off on his mission. It later transpired he tried to alert a passer-by who misunderstood the situation and attempted to lead him away. Orca disobeyed his training and slipped out of his collar so he could continue his search and found a runner about a mile away from the incident.
“They told me Orca would not leave him alone, barking and running away as if to say, ‘Come on, follow me’ and he did. And I am so grateful. Initially I’d felt embarrassment because I couldn’t get myself out of the situation, but that had turned to fear quite quickly,” recalls Cheryl who was close to unconsciousness after the two-hour ordeal and taken to hospital for hypothermia.
Emergency services later confirmed she would have likely died without Orca’s persistence. In recognition of his extraordinary actions, Orca was awarded the PDSA Gold Medal in 2006 – the highest honour for a non-military dog and the animal equivalent of the George Cross.
“I had family dogs growing up, but never labs and retrievers. In fact, I had always thought retrievers were a bit daft, but with Orca I felt I could do anything,” says Cheryl who has attained three master’s degrees across chemistry and education.
“I probably wouldn’t have stayed at university after I broke both arms in a fall if it hadn’t been for Orca. If I hadn’t stayed on, I wouldn’t have met my husband there, and then I wouldn’t have my three daughters [aged 12, 10 and 7.] But Orca also made adventures possible because I didn’t worry as much about going to places or trying new things and I found people were more likely to strike up conversation as well.”
Cheryl says her previous assistance dog, Orca, made her feel she could do anything – including the Hull 10k – Cheryl Alexander
Orca and Tyrian have allowed Cheryl to experience a life she once believed to be out of reach. Aged 13, a mystery virus damaged her brain and nervous system leaving her with limited mobility on the left side of her body. “I was walking with a stick and then crutches but at the time I did not want anything to do with wheelchairs, but I just got slower and slower.”
At 18, she was diagnosed with Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD), a chronic condition that causes enduring pain. At the same time, she began studying chemistry at the University of York. It was a turning point. Unable to get from one class to the next, she agreed to a wheelchair out of necessity. “And I loved it,” she says. The wheelchair provided greater freedom, but day-to-day activities, especially those that required bending over and picking up, remained painfully challenging.
Then Cheryl discovered Canine Partners in 2002. “I was appointed disability students officer at the Student Union and was going through an overflowing filing cabinet when I spotted a leaflet. Until then, I didn’t know assistance dogs existed,” says Cheryl. She then successfully applied to be partnered with a dog and visited the charity’s base in Loughborough to spend time with Orca.
‘I probably wouldn’t have stayed at university if it hadn’t been for Orca,’ says Cheryl
“It’s ultimately a partnership, so there has to be a bond, a bit like a marriage, and thankfully Orca was like, yep, I love this one. But then, Canine Partners are very good at putting the right dog with the right person,” she notes.
“Suddenly, I didn’t have to worry about planning everything with such military precision. Before, if I dropped my keys and no one was around, I was stuffed, but not any more. It seems small, but you gain so much independence.”
Orca retired on his 12th birthday and as was Cheryl’s wish, he was signed over to her. “The jacket was returned, and he was then my pet dog. He couldn’t go to the supermarket any more, but my boss allowed him to continue coming to school. And the truth is, I couldn’t really stop him working. He still wanted to pick up pens. I just didn’t ask him any more. It was all on his terms.”
Orca retired on his 12th birthday, but remained with Cheryl as a pet – Lorne Campbell/Guzelian
Orca passed away in 2014, and Cheryl keeps his collar on the corner of her bed as a constant reminder of their great friendship.
“I was then six months pregnant with my middle child, so it wasn’t feasible to get another dog straight away. Tasks did become harder, but I worked through it on the basis I wanted to get another dog as soon as possible, not just because I wanted help with things, but there was this dog-shaped hole in my life.”
Tyrian will spend his retirement with Cheryl as a pet, just as Orca did – Lorne Campbell/Guzelian
Tyrian arrived in her life two years after Orca’s passing. When it is time for Tyrian to hang up his jacket, he’ll be signed over to Cheryl, as Orca was, to enjoy his retirement.
“He’s healthy as an ox, so I don’t think he’s going to be gone anytime soon, but I wouldn’t get another dog while he is here. It would break his heart if he saw me head off in the morning with a different dog. He’s given me the best years of his life, so I’m not going to do that to him.”
But when Tyrian does pass on, Cheryl will look to Canine Partners for a new buddy as the relationships she has forged with Orca and Tyrian have been transformative, both personally and professionally.
“It changes your mindset being part of a team, and the confidence is empowering,” says Cheryl, who won the Master Educator’s Award for outstanding school leadership at The Educators’ Trust Awards earlier this year, in recognition of her teaching and advocacy work for students facing adversity.
“Not just disability but people who have limited means, people whose family members have never been to university, showing them that it is possible. If I can do it, so can you,” adds Cheryl who was fostered at 14 by a family who instilled a love of learning.
“And I have been so lucky to have these incredible dogs in my life. They have given me the strength and courage to enjoy a life I never thought possible.”
Canine Partners is one of four charities supported by this year’s Telegraph Christmas Charity Appeal. The others are Prostate Cancer Research, Motor Neurone Disease Association, The Not Forgotten. To make a donation, please visit telegraph.co.uk/appeal2025 or call 0151 317 5247