An assistance dog for Connie

Connie is a bright, funny, creative and caring 5 year old. She has complex medical problems which have caused significant childhood trauma. She is also autistic with significant sensory processing difficulties and a number of other needs.

Connie needs an assistance dog to help her access everyday experiences that others take for granted. She currently cannot go to medical and therapy appointments, attend school, or cope with many simple everyday tasks.

Everyday life is overwhelming and distressing for Connie but dogs have a very calming effect on her. An assistance dog would help to keep her safe, to stop her running away when distressed, and could be trained to help her with everyday tasks such as getting dressed.

Getting a fully trained assistance dog is HUGELY expensive with a long wait so we intend to get a puppy to train, giving Connie the emotional benefits immediately. But we need help from experts to train the dog to meet Connie’s needs, and that we can’t afford on our own.

We would be so grateful for any donations to help change our little girl’s life.