Autism Service Dog for Jake

As you probably know, Jake has autism. Because of his autism, he is limited in some thing he can do and he's considered a 'flight risk' because for the most part, he's unable to communicate with people who aren't familiar to him. He rarely responds to his name, so in a matter of a few seconds, if not constantly watched, he can slip away. We're fortunate nothing bad has happened, but as many of you know, watching a child 24/7 is very challenging, especially an 11 year old who is smart enough to know to get into stuff the second we turn our back. One issue we have with Jake is his 'stimming' behavior of ripping paper. For those who aren't familiar with 'stimming' it's basically behaviors that are generally calming to the individual, but not necessarily socially acceptable. We've tried everything to stop this behavior, but when the paper ripping (which makes a terrible mess) slowed, he turned to pinching himself to the point of making himself bleed. We decided the mess was better than injuring himself. Service dogs can help reduce and/or eliminate stimming behavior, help increase independence because a dog would be able to follow and/or track him if he gets out of our line of vision. A service dog would be able to go with him to school and out in public, which will help reduce his anxiety in those loud, crowded places. It would help me immensely, as my anxiety and worry would be reduced, knowing I've got an extra layer of help. We've been saving for a while, but on 2 teachers' salaries, it's definitely slow going. If anyone could help out, in any way, I'd be very grateful! Every donation will get a personalized card from as a thank you - as long as I have your address! Thank you SO much!