Dream job

When it comes to waiting for your dream job, in Liam Turner’s case it was definitely a case of better late than never!

That’s because after 30 years working in local government IT, he has now found a job which he says feels more like a hobby – as one of our therapy dog handlers.

“It literally feels like a paid hobby and is hands down the best job I have even done, I just had to wait until I am almost 60 years old to find it,” he jokes.

So, how did Liam go from advising people to turn their computers off and back on again (yes, we are joking of course!) to taking our therapy dogs out into the community to help people.

He takes up the story: “I left my job in 2018 and indulged my love of rugby and sports coaching for a few years until the pandemic hit, then I started working in a hospital spinal unit as a physiotherapy assistant which was my first experience or working in care.

“Then I saw the job advertised for a therapy dog handler at the end of 2024 and the rest is history!”

Up until this point, Liam had only owned one dog in his lifetime but now he averages around 30 hours each week taking many of our ten trained therapy dogs into people’s homes or other community venues such as nursing homes, a school for children with autism in Redcar, our Safe Place initiative at Redcar Rugby Club and our four supported living schemes, also in Redcar.

“Seeing how people react to the dogs is very special,” he says.

“They are making a massive difference to people’s lives and it’s amazing to be part of this.”

When he’s not handling our therapy dogs, father-of-two Liam enjoys playing and coaching rugby, with the Redcar women’s team currently benefiting from his expertise.