Therapy Dogs Help Autistic Children

Tonight is the culmination of Oprah’s Big Give! The last three contestants will be battling for first place as the “Biggest Giver” and I will be glued to the T.V. to see who wins.  

So, what does this have to do with therapy dogs you may ask. Well, if you tuned into Oprah’s Big Give last week, you would have seen Lynette and Todd Wilson, of Sierra Vista, Arizona, who have five (5) autistic children. Yes, that’s right… five autistic children… young children. Lynette is the full-time caregiver as Todd is on active military duty overseas. WOW!

Brandi Milloy, the last female contestant in the Big Give, gave this family $3,000 to help them send the kids to summer camp. Okay, that will help a lot. My mind leapt into overdrive. “STAY! STAY! These people need a lot more help! Maybe a therapy dog would help… if ever there was a need for a therapy dog, this is it!”  This thought was prompted by the recent reports I’ve read about the progress, around the world, in training therapy dogs to help autistic children.

The value these therapy dogs provide families who have autistic children appears to be excellent on many levels. There is a problem though… to train these dogs and have the autistic child and the family train together before the dog is released into the home. A cost of between $8,000 to $15,000 must be paid. The family and all their friends are expected to do fundraising to be able to qualify for getting a therapy dog trained for their specific use. 

Now I’m not an authority on autism, though I have spent time researching the subject over years as I meet more and more people who have autistic kids. The effort required to care for an autistic child is unbelievable. So, when I saw a family with five autistic kids I just couldn’t believe it. My heart went out to the parents. What a challenge!

Given Oprah’s great love of pets, dogs in particular, I think it would absolutely wonderful if she could use her clout to rally troops world-wide, (in The New Earth style), to raise awareness about the challenges of raising autistic children.

Fundraising is needed to help provide more therapy dogs for families like the Wilsons. Perhaps this could be a starter project for the new O Ambassador program for school kids. We’ll be giving this more thought to find a way to help out. Stay tuned!

The pay-it-forward spirit of the Big Give has already connected to this challenge in Vermont!

ABC, the Disney-owned broadcast network airing the “reality show with a twist,” has given $10,000 to approximately 100 communities across the country. Vermont was selected as a recipient. Northfield Savings Bank and ABC22 have partnered to direct this support to Therapy Dogs of Vermont. In addition, NSB will match community members’ donations, up to a maximum total of $5,000.

For more information check the Therapy Dogs of Vermont website. Turn your speakers down!
(I do not see any indication that these therapy dogs assist autistic children, so feel free to enlighten me about this… thanks!)

April is Autism Awareness Month.
- Check here for more about the progress of therapy dogs for autistic children.
- Visit 4 Paws for Ability, recently featured on Good Morning America, to learn more about fundraising requirements for training a therapy dog for an autistic child.