I have been watching this programme with much pleasure, what a difference the dog makes to the disabled person and lovely to see good training methods and how sensible to train the dog to do just what the individual requires which as the programme shows is so much quicker. I was very impressed last night by the Patterdale terrier so super bright he almost seemed able to learn anything and the transformation of the white GSD into a super dog.

I've not seen it. What channel is it on ?

It's on C4

I've been enjoying it too, last week there was a very clever little poodle learning how to help a girl with Morchio (?) syndrome. I was so pleased the GSD got a lovely new home too as it seemed she'd been in the wars.

I have watched all three episodes, the black lab that went to the young man with Tourette's syndrome, the nurse who suffered with narcolepsy & cataplexy (which l had never heard of until this programme) who was paired with a boxer cross? and also the little boy in the wheel chair who was paired with the Dalmatian -all successful with the training carried on. The young lady with the pattersdale terrier  was great -she really worked hard with her family to train the him & the young lady with the poodle did very well. I loved the German shepherd it was the right match for that lady. All the dogs seem to have given their new owners a completely life changing experience.
I had watched on Animal planet a few years back, the scheme in America where rescue dogs are put with prisoners in some correction facilities where the inmates that were chosen had the dogs live with them & train them to be service dogs. That seemed to work very well it was always nice to see the service dogs handed over to their new owners & the pride that the inmates took from this.

As a functioning yet diagnosed depression sufferer the NHS has let me down, finally got them to listen to me,was referred etc-told I'd hear back in a few weeks...it's now about 12 months later and have heard nothing. Anyhow about 6 months ago we got our puppy....best thing that could have happened to me, I can feel happiness (such a big thing if you're not used to it) and even when I'm down I have a reason to go home after work (OH works nights so dog is only alone for a max of about 1 hour) and more importantly a reason to leave the house after getting home. My confidence is up,way up and I speak to other people (a dog is a great social 'crutch') and so feel less isolated living quite far away from my family/friends etc (that annoying distance-too far away for post work visits but not far enough for special occasions). That is just my experience and my 'problems' are nowhere near as significant or as life-altering as the people in this programme but give me a deeper understanding of just how special ANY dog can be..don't think it should have been called rescue dog to super dog, simply rescue dog to family dog.

As a functioning yet diagnosed depression sufferer the NHS has let me down, finally got them to listen to me,was referred etc-told I'd hear back in a few weeks...it's now about 12 months later and have heard nothing.

Chase them up, please, for your own sake. I kept being fobbed off as well -well it's all down to shortages as everything else. Took about a year before I got proper help BUT during that time I got so much worse. Life as I knew it doesn't exist any more. Dogs help, definitely, but unless you feel 100 %, don't take any risks. Your GP should be able to chase things up for you.

Thanks for that, really should do but I'm guessing you know how hard that is to do when you feel 'okay' (the fact that it is down in writing does give me some motivation to do it though-harder to ignore)! Anyways,not main point of my post-just that dogs are amazing really and you can never appreciate how much til you have one of your own (Loved being jumped all over by his family's dogs when visiting but doesn't come anywhere close to getting home to your own sat in the window with your cat just waiting for YOU).