A mother has found comfort in grief through the graduation of a life-changing assistance dog.
Bev High, from Crawley Down, West Sussex, lost her only son Chris Tween when he was just 19, after he suffered a fatal epileptic seizure.
Since then, she and a group of Chris’ friends have raised more than £8,000 to train an assistance dog through the charity Support Dogs.
The chosen dog, a red fox Labrador, has now graduated and been named Chris in his honour.
Ms High said: "Seeing Chris graduate was joyful.
"Chris wanted to go to university and never had the chance to graduate, but in a way, it was like seeing my Chris graduate. It was very moving and something positive to focus on.
"This has been a life-saver for me. Having something tangible where you can see the difference it makes to someone is fantastic."
The specially trained dog now supports Amanda Davidson from Barnsley, a former police officer who was forced to retire due to injury and later developed lupus before suffering a stroke at 38.
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Ms Davidson said: "It’s absolutely amazing that someone can take such a loss of a young son and turn it into such a positive effort that not only makes a big change for me, but it’s also helping others as Bev is hoping to raise more money for additional dogs.
"It’s an amazing show of strength and resilience and such positivity. It was an absolute privilege to meet her."
To donate to the campaign, visit justgiving.com/page/beverley-high-1713457910630.
For more information about Support Dogs and in-memory giving, visit supportdogs.org.uk/inmemory or call 0114 2617800.
Ms High and five of Chris’ friends attended the Support Dogs Graduation and Awards ceremony in Sheffield, where they met Amanda and the dog named after her son.
Support Dogs is the UK’s only charity that trains epilepsy seizure alert dogs and also supports adults with physical disabilities and autistic children.
Ms High and her family are now fundraising for a second assistance dog to be named ‘Tweeny’ in memory of Chris.
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