Thelma and Louise

French and Saunders, Mel and Sue, Cagney and Lacey, Laverne and Shirley. There have been some great female double acts, in real-life and fiction, but perhaps the most iconic female duo of all time are Thelma and Louise.

Caremark Redcar and Cleveland has its very own Thelma and Louise, but instead of Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon we have Linda Jones and Lisa Chorlton.

Oh, and we can’t forget their trusty sidekick, Red the Dog.

But like all stories (real-life or fiction) it’s important to start at the beginning, and that’s where Linda comes in.

Linda worked as a teacher for over 20 years but fell out of love with it due to the increased bureaucracy, so she left the profession and went on to work/volunteer for a number of organisations, including Oxfam, a local women’s refuge and Foundation, a social justice charity.

Unfortunately, in 2015 Linda developed physical health conditions which meant she had to give up work. She moved into a new home on the first day of lockdown in March 2020 and as she was classified as being clinically vulnerable, she was advised by her GP to shield.

Even though she had a little support, this led to her becoming isolated and her mental health also started to suffer.

Then, in 2021, she was referred to Caremark Redcar and Cleveland and started to receive a 30-minute visit each day for meal preparation and 2 domestic calls a week to help her with housework.

She says this really helped her, but then her life changed for the better even more in summer 2023 when a flyer came through her door advertising our CareBark animal therapy service, and this led her (eventually) to Lisa and Red.

Linda explains: “I was interested when I read the flyer but thought one hour would be too long and I actually cancelled twice before I decided to go for it, and it’s the best thing I could have done.”

Linda initially spent an hour each week with Kelly, our therapy dog handler, who introduced her to Red and even though she could have chosen any of our therapy dogs, she says “he took my heart from the first moment I met him.”

And then that’s when Lisa comes into the story.

Lisa worked as a nurse for eight years, having came into the profession as a mature student, but after the birth of her daughter she decided not to return and assumed she was officially in retirement.

But seeing Caremark cars driving around the area piqued her interest and she decided to apply for a job as carer.

Lisa takes up the story: “During my interview we started talking about dogs. I love dogs and have six of my own and they mentioned a job was coming up for a therapy dog handler. The interview continued but I kept coming back to the dogs; that’s all I could think of.”

Lisa got the job as a handler and began to shadow Kelly and that’s when she first met Linda.

Linda says: “I get nervous meeting new people so when Kelly told me about Lisa, I had sleepless nights thinking about her.

“We went to a café, and I remember not looking at Lisa at all because I was so frightened about talking to her.

“But when I was alone with Lisa for the first time when Kelly was on holiday, something clicked, and we hit it off immediately.

“Rarely do you meet someone like her and there’s something about Lisa’s nature that makes her perfect for this role.”

Now, the pair go out in all weather, walking with Red, chatting and enjoying each other’s company.

Linda adds: “Lisa makes me feel valuable whereas before I felt old and useless. She has helped me remember who I really am. She is endlessly supportive, and we have significant conversations, putting the world to rights whenever we are together.

And Lisa says meeting Linda has been good therapy for her too.

“You can’t do something like this and not form a friendship, especially with someone so unique and special as Linda. She is such a beautiful person inside and out and she had lost that inside herself, so it’s been amazing to be a part of this positive change in her.”

Linda and Lisa are quick to also point out Red’s importance in this story.

Linda says: “Everyone comes up to talk to the dog and I can talk to them from that, so he has played a vital part in improving my health and wellbeing.

So, the future looks brighter for Linda, who is also now planning to tick something off her buckeyt list in 2024, namely a ride in a hit air balloon, and we are delighted to have been able to support her through our CareBark service.

Now you can see why Linda and Lisa are known as Thelma and Louise, although in their case they won’t end up driving off a cliff – there’s still too many walks, chats, and good times still to be had.

Plus, Red’s better behaved than Brad Pitt anyway!