Meet Cashel, an autism assistance dog who joined his owner Leo Long during the pandemic, when he was a 17 year old sixth form student.   

Three years on, cavapoo Cashel's working life looks very different.  Lockdown is mercifully a distant memory, and Leo's acting career has taken off. Leo has recently starred as a gifted young autistic drummer in the feelgood Netflix hit, "I used to be Famous", performed Shakespeare on the London stage and taken a role in an ITV4 series.

Dogs with Jobs presenter Kate Fairweather hears about how Cashel came into Leo's life, their developing partnership and how he helps Leo day to day.

We've featured an autism assistance dog previously on Dogs with Jobs, through an interview with its trainer and mother of its human partner. This episode hears first hand from autistic actor and musician Leo about his lived experience with Cashel, and the difference an autism assistance dog makes to his life.

Cashel was trained and placed with Leo by the charity Dogs for Autism.

Update: Leo and Cashel had a development meeting a few weeks after this original interview, in January 2023.  They have kindly shared the audio from this, to give an insight into the planning and training that underpins a successful partnership.

Find out more about autism assistance dogs in previous Dogs with Jobs interviews:

• Meet Daisy, another autism assistance dog who works with a non-verbal autistic teenager; 
• Hear an Interview from October 2021 with Hilary Armour talking about the work of the charity, Dogs for Autism.

Find more dogs with interesting jobs. 

© & ℗ Kate Fairweather, 2022