Caring for others and uplifting the community remain central to our business operations! Engaging in charitable giving affirms our commitment to contributing positively to the global community. Among our endeavors, we take particular joy in brightening the lives of children with autism by providing them with trained service dogs. APBC proudly offers additional training for these extraordinary dogs and their families.
Contained within is a heartfelt letter from a mother of two boys with autism, recounting her family’s experience with Aly’s Puppy Boot Camp and their service dog, Leo. Her story brought us to tears of joy and satisfaction.
A Trained Service Dog for Our Autistic Child, a mothers testimonial…
We are asked all the time how we came to find Leo for Joseph, and I respond …we found an amazing lady, who just happens to have the most amazing talent and love for dogs. Her name is Aly.
It is this wonderful woman who not only loves and trains dogs but she also cares about the families who want to include a dog in their lives. She is amazing in the way she welcomes you, listens to you and matches you with the right dog. It’s an incredible process that is well worth it.
And here is our story. Joseph was diagnosed with autism at 17 months old. He is the third of 4 boys. One of his older brothers has autism as well. Our family has been in this world for over 15 years. Joseph’s journey with autism was a unique one. It never fit any box, diagnosis, assistance or medical book. Throughout the years, nothing quite worked to help alleviate his random triggers, two-hour tempers, daily shutdowns, or sensory overload. We simply pushed through,
My boys had wanted a dog for so long, and I was the one that kept saying no. With 4 boys and so much lack of control, and unknown, the last thing I wanted was one more thing to take care of.
But then, a pattern started to emerge with Joseph. By the time Joseph was 7, he was mobile, but still lacking basic social and communication skills. No matter where we went, he loved dogs – and dogs loved him. If there was a dog anywhere in sight, he had to go to it. You may be thinking it is common, but it really wasn’t. Joseph approached nothing and no one. He rarely connected with anything, neither people nor animals. He hated attention, touch, or the unknown. But he went to dogs. Something was different about Joseph when he was around dogs.
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