Hi all,

Thank you for taking the time to read our story. We have spent the past 12months or so researching and looking into therapy/service dogs for children with special needs and autisim. Our Lucca is a beautiful 7yo boy with level 3 autisim. He is a sweet, kind natured, loving little human. But with this condition comes alot of struggles in life. He is non-verbal and struggles to express his needs, he suffers with sensory overload and as a result really challenges him to emotionally regulate. This can look like hyper activity, meltdowns including selfharm (headbanging on hard surfaces), seeking physical pressure, and tangible items to calm his focus. He has a lack of awareness for safety and will wander off in unsecure environments including traffic and waterways.

We reached out to an organisation who trains particular breeds (golden retrivers/labradors) to be a companion and support children with these needs in everyday life, and Lucca meets the requirements as one of these dogs would help support him by, tracking/stopping him from wandering off, disrupt meltdowns/selfharm and apply pressure from laying on him to help regulate his sensory needs when he is experiencing an overload. These dogs costs $30,000 and 18-24months before they are placed with their child. We have spoken with other families who have introduced these breeds as a family dog and have had huge success and gains with the support they have provided to their children with special needs as it is in their nature to be a companion like this regardless of their training. We have decided to reach out to our community, family and friends in the hopes to raise a portion of the cost towards one of these breeds and hope we can provide Lucca with a long life furfriend and companion.

Thank you so much, every small bit will help us achieve this goal and means the world to us to be able to provide this for Lucca ❤️