Autism Therapy Dog for Briana

Hi! My name is Briana and I am a 5-year-old little girl who sees the world a little differently because I have autism. I am also non-verbal which makes it hard to express to others how I feel and what I need. I am working really hard in speech therapy with sign language and trying to vocalize as much as I can. But it is hard for me to express when I am getting too overwhelmed and want to run away. 
         
I am a fun loving little girl who loves to run, which is unsafe for me to do by myself. I sometimes get away from my mommy and daddy and think it is a game when they run to catch me to keep me safe. This is why mommy and daddy want to get me a therapy dog. It will help to keep me safe at all times. My new puppy would not only keep me safe from running away but also help when I need deep pressure to calm me down. 

I also have sensory processing disorder, which means I have trouble coping with all of the sensory input that is occurring around me in my environment. Sometimes this causes me to become overwhelmed and I may start throwing a tantrum or screaming  because of this. So the puppy would help me in these types of situations by laying on top of me and applying deep pressure. 
      
My mommy and daddy have seen how I act with my aunt and uncle's doggy, which helps me to be calmer and have a great playmate to run with me and keep me safe. This is what led them to think it is best for my well-being to get a therapy dog.

They finally found me a forever friend just two weeks ago. She is a chocolate colored Labradoodle. She's half Labrador Retriever because they're smart and can learn to help me, and half Poodle because it helps with my allergies without the shedding. We named her Cocoa because she looks like chocolate, and I have already learned to say her name!

Cocoa is just a baby dog and we are having so much fun together. As she gets older she can learn how to help me. But training a therapy dog is very expensive. My mommy can’t go to work right now because she's sick and still has to help take care of me. That only leaves daddy working and it makes it hard to pay for Cocoa's training for me. 

Me and my mommy and daddy would be so happy if you're able to help Cocoa learn to help me. She has to go to doggy school for many weeks to learn how to listen and help me with what I need. Cocoa is very smart and I love her very much! Thank you for taking the time to hear my voice, even though I can't really speak out loud. Anyone can hear me, they just have to know how to listen first.

Love,

-Briana, Megan (Mommy), Brenden (Daddy), and Cocoa