Service Dogs For Autism

Service Dogs for Autism........

I so think I am Super Mom.....you know, have child with Autism can leap tall buildings, so a train, swim the ocean in a storm.

We had a companion dog for 8 years for our son. Then the cocker-hound got cancer of mouth & throat (she loved grass and I swear it was from the poison people put in their grass to kill weeds!!!!) So, watching the "Bear" get worse and worse I knew I had to get another dog. Everyone I knew including all my son's doctors said, "get him a service dog". What they didn't tell me was the COST and rules involved in this process.

Imagine, getting a dog and then having someone tell you, "we're taking the dog back". That and the huge cost involved, stopped me from going with any "group" for a new dog (after the death of "Bear".) We went to the pound, got a 6 month old dog (we were told was a lab) and started training. Go ahead, keep laughing ! Turns out the dog is a mix Plott Hound & your guess is as good as anyone else's. Some say mix lab, some say mix pointer. All I know is, this dog is a hyper or more than my son with Autism. OH JOY. So we are praying (past the point of hoping) this dog calms down as it gets older. The dog loves our son and they do get on well. The dog is easy to train, unless of course a bird, rabbit or other wild creature is "seen" ! Yep, this is an uphill battle.

NOT all children with Autism so well with dogs. Not all dogs do well with Child having Autism. Blessings on you and yours. As if, Autism isn't difficult enough --- throwing a dog in the mix, may NOT work for everyone. We feel very blessed to have "Bailey", now the "Bear" is in heaven. Later when he gets older he will be taken to higher level training (a professional) that will help him learn to turn on light at night for our son; bark when our son tries to leave front door; lay on our son (for pressure) when needed.

OH, and don't listen to the person @ the pound, they rarely actually KNOW what kind of dog they are getting you to adopt. I took our dog to two vets and they both agreed I had a "hound" of some sorts. It was my nephew, a future Plott Hound owner, that spotted "Bailey" and educated me on this dog. He's not a lab but he's a great dog. Well, okay.....he also goes to pieces when he hears sirens!!!

Here are sites I did visit before going to the pound.
www.4pawsforability.org
www.allpurposecanines.com
www.autismservicedogsofamerica.com
www.cci.org
: www.nsd.on.ca
: www.northstardogs.com
www.psychdog.org
http://servicedogcentral.org/content
http://autism.wilderwood.org

I do wish you the best in your QUEST for a service dog. THEY ARE not babysistters. They SHOULD NEVER be left alone to watch your child with Autism, or any child. They are DOGS and can and should be trained to do certain task. THEY can't do CPR, drive or vote.......they are NOT certified babysitters.......I can't say that enough.
~Autism For Life Community, blogger