Debbie Pragt lives with multiple sclerosis (MS) and moves around with the aid of a mobility scooter.
Some days, when her symptoms are particularly severe, she struggles to move around her home.
What brings her joy and helps her get through each day is the company of her two dogs.
She is in good company — about 63 per cent of Australians are pet owners.
But she needs help caring for the dogs at times, and recently discovered a service that provides that sort of support when she cannot.
She is calling for such services to be rolled out to other parts of the country.
'They're my family'
"My MS has now got to the point where I can't really stand or walk from my bed to the toilet so I have this little chair here to help me get from my bed to the ensuite," Ms Pragt said.
"And my dogs are my children, they're my family," she said.
"I've had some difficult situations this year and my dogs have kept me going through the last 12, 18 months and without them, it would be nothing."
She said her dogs often showed signs they could tell when she was having a particularly difficult day.
"This sounds really odd, but when I fall, they'll [be] intently watching me, waiting for me to move — it's really quite supportive, because I know that at least they care," she said.
"Dogs are an integral part of any person's life, especially those with a disability, especially those who are ailing [or] dying.
"If they weren't here with me I really wouldn't have the inclination to get up any time quickly."
Ms Pragt said there were times when she struggled to care for her pets.
"With my MS being particularly bad... I haven't been able to feed them properly," she said.
But everything changed when she found out about Furry Favours, a Canberra-based service that offers support to those living with disability who have pets.
Run by Mel Bayley, the business is aimed at providing affordable rates to people who need help so that they can keep their pets, even at the most difficult times.
"If I didn't have Mel, I wouldn't be able to [keep them]," she said.
"Because a lot of providers out there don't worry about the dogs, it's not part of what they do, but what Mel does is just amazing."
Thanks to Ms Bayley, the dogs now have someone to help pick up after them and care for them in the backyard when Ms Pragt can't.
Ms Bayley said her service filled a gap in the disability support sector.
"We help vulnerable people look after their animals because we understand that that's probably their most intimate relationship, and animals are what makes them get out of bed and help them be the best person that they can be," Ms Bayley said.
She said she had supported people with a wide range of needs, including one family of people with autism whose elderly mother had been caring for their pet and was concerned for their future once she herself passed away.
"You can just see the look in their mother's eyes, to know that there is hope for their vulnerable children once they've passed," she said.
"We've held their hand when they've needed it.
"It's just decency and it's something that's lacking today."
Concerns for those avoiding care for the sake of pets
An estimated 4.4 million Australians live with disability.
According to Ms Bayley, there is huge demand for services like hers and that a lack of support is having negative impacts on people's health.
"There's a lot of people out there in the community that are elderly, that are vulnerable, and are sick, that won't go to hospital because they don't know who is going to care for their animals whilst they are away," she said.
"And so their health is compromised."
She said she had recently cared for two dogs that needed medication twice a day while their owner was in hospital for heart surgery. She said she was the only option for him, aside from giving up the animals.
"Not everyone can afford kennelling, not everyone has family back-up, and so this is leading back to a community problem," she said.
"I'd like to see this rolled out Australia-wide, because it's absolutely necessary to the vulnerable and the elderly."
Ms Pragt said she wanted disability support services to expand to encompass pet care.
"They need to be more accepting of animals, because that's your family, that's your network," she said.
"Other people haven't had the opportunity to meet Mel, and their providers don't do this, and I think that's just wrong."
