Autism Service Dog for Carson

Hi!  My name is Alicia and I'm an Autism Mommy.  My son, Carson was diagnosed with Autism when he was 3.  Even before his diagnosis, we suspected he had Autism and we knew we had a problem with eloping.  When Carson gets overwhelmed (loud situations, too many people, bright lights) he runs.  We've had several close calls when he ran into the street or ran from us in a large store.  A couple of times he's also escaped from the house and ran across the street and into the neighbor's house.  We've learned that a service dog can really help with this.  In public, Carson will be tethered to the dog so that he cannot run off.  At home, the dog will block Carson if he tries run off and will be able to track him.  The dog will also be able to help calm Carson during a meltdown and will help with social skills as many people will approach him to ask about his dog.   My husband and I really feel like this will help Carson and improve quality of life for all of us.  We've found a company in Joplin that finds shelter/rescue dogs and trains them to be service dogs.  This weekend we are going there to meet our dog.  We still won't get him for another 6 months because he will be in training.  Even after he comes home, the trainer will come to our house for 8 more months to train the dog.  Although this is a very large sum of money and we could not pay it on our own, we really feel like this will be beneficial for Carson and could possibly save his life someday.  We would truly appreciate any help you could offer.