Service Dog for Autism
Donation protected
Meet Oreo! We rescued this beautiful pup when she was 8 weeks old from a family that was going "to shoot her if not gone by tonight." She was covered in sarcoptic mange, but had a beautiful soul and willingness to love. She is an Austrailian Shepherd and Lab mix and is now longing to become an Autism Service Dog for my 2 year old daughter, Evelyn Celia Monroe. Our daughter was officially diagnosed February 2014 with Autism Spectrum Disorder and is going through therapy to mitigate her symptoms. She is mostly nonverbal, meaning she does not speak. Even if she wanted to, she has only one word, "milk"... she can't even call me mama....
Our family is dedicated to doing everything possible to improve our daughter's future, but there are some areas where therapy does not help. Her wandering, which has only gotten worse, will cause her to get in to dangerous situations if not watched carefully. Having another toddler at home, I watch as diligently as possible, but it would be nice to have back up. This is especially true since my husband is gone a lot with the military... I deal with all this by myself. I fear when she's old enough to turn the door knob and leave the house... Expressing this fear along with the overwhelming meltdowns, sensory overload issues, etc it was recommended we look in to a service dog. While a therapy dog would comfort her from sensory overload, a service dog will get training in Search and Rescue in case she wanders from us. A service dog can also lead her away from the scenario or help her "reset" if she is in pain from sensory overload, and finally notify us if she's stimming so we can monitor it. While these are just a few of the things Oreo will learn in training, it gives an idea of the scope of Oreo's job. Edit: Here is a video that highlights an autistic service dog: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjsAenxJous
We chose to privately train our service dog. Most members in my support group told horrifying stories of their experience with Service Dog companies. Most were charged massive amounts of money and in return they wound up with poorly trained dogs that often missed seizures and sometimes would not listen to commands. We did not want to risk that. We have been researching and finding trainers in our local area that will train autism service dogs; one trains police dogs and emphasized the search and rescue aspect, so this is who we will be using. They are Durham Haus Working Dogs of Arkansas if you'd like to look at his site. We knew this was the route to go! We are thrilled to be a part of the training process to ensure thorough, proper training and a bond between my daughter and her dog.
While the amount we're requesting does not cover all her training, it will drastically reduce our out of pocket expenses. Being a military family, we're usually living from paycheck to paycheck, especially with all the other costs associated with raising an autistic child. Please consider donating to Oreo's service training so that she can help our daughter live a safe and calm life!
******Edit: We have increased the total funds requested. The initial amount was to mitigate her "basic training boot camp" costs. Her training is going to be an ongoing process, and we'd like to reflect that in her fundraiser. We are always grateful for additonal donations!******
We chose to privately train our service dog. Most members in my support group told horrifying stories of their experience with Service Dog companies. Most were charged massive amounts of money and in return they wound up with poorly trained dogs that often missed seizures and sometimes would not listen to commands. We did not want to risk that. We have been researching and finding trainers in our local area that will train autism service dogs; one trains police dogs and emphasized the search and rescue aspect, so this is who we will be using. They are Durham Haus Working Dogs of Arkansas if you'd like to look at his site. We knew this was the route to go! We are thrilled to be a part of the training process to ensure thorough, proper training and a bond between my daughter and her dog.
While the amount we're requesting does not cover all her training, it will drastically reduce our out of pocket expenses. Being a military family, we're usually living from paycheck to paycheck, especially with all the other costs associated with raising an autistic child. Please consider donating to Oreo's service training so that she can help our daughter live a safe and calm life!
******Edit: We have increased the total funds requested. The initial amount was to mitigate her "basic training boot camp" costs. Her training is going to be an ongoing process, and we'd like to reflect that in her fundraiser. We are always grateful for additonal donations!******
Organizer
Tiffany Monroe
Organizer
Jacksonville, AR
