Happy Paws Happy Hearts’ (HPHH) care programs support participants with high care needs through a mix of classroom-based activities with rescue animal interactions including building fine motor skills through hands-on, tactile work, and time out in the shelter itself also. At our Toowoomba site at RSPCA Wellcamp, that out-and-about shelter time is a beloved activity due to the site’s accessibility right up into the agility yard, meaning participants don't just watch the animals from the sidelines. They get out into the open air and sunshine, experiencing the dogs’ joy and freedom to roam and play alongside them—and, in this case, to take part in some agility activities.

Nathan is one of our Care group participants who has been attending HPHH for two years now and has a great passion and confidence in working with animals. Nathan drives a motorised wheelchair, so sometimes the world can meet him with mobility challenges, but our Toowoomba agility space certainly isn’t one of them! So when the group made their way to take part in an agility activity with rescue dog, Andy, he was ready to take the lead.

Andy is a happy, affectionate 2-year-old Bull Arab mix who loves being part of the adventure and spending time with humans. Andy hadn't experienced the agility yard and its accompanying ramp before and hadn't met Nathan's motorised chair before either. That combination is one of the more delicate moments in this kind of session: a dog encountering something new and unfamiliar.

Nathan didn't let that slow him down. Leading with the same can-do attitude he brings to every session, he guided his chair towards the ramp, luring Andy up as he continued to move past the ramp. He led Andy over the ramp and then brought him back down the other side. The moment was steady, unhurried and Nathan led Andy entirely at his own pace. Andy, patient and tentative was more than happy to follow Nathan's lead.

A small yet powerful moment demonstrating the connection which is fostered between people of all abilities and recue animals within our sessions. It was a hands-on demonstration of what accessibility and inclusion look like in practice at HPHH: a participant not needing to adapt themselves to fit an activity but leading it.

Out in the open air and sunshine, choice and freedom remained a powerful presence in Toowoomba's agility yard.