Four-Footed Therapists
February 19, 2008 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
Dogs warm to children with autism reports the February 17th Chicago Tribune in an article about therapy dogs for autistic children—this is not the case for my own son, who on seeing a dog freezes, or backs up, or asks to be carry (something about the barks, especially when it is high-pitched, and their unpredictable movements). We’re not ready for a dog, not yet—-a family in Alaska have gotten approval to get a therapy dog for their 3-year-old autistic son, Trapper Leeth. Trapper’s family lives in a remote area of Alaska and, shortly after they were approved for the therapy dog, they got into a serious roll-over accident and Trapper’s mother, Jami, is now in body braces. Feline Fido, which is devoting autism donations to providing services dogs for autistic children, has more about Trapper and his family here.
Man’s best friend can be a friend and more indeed.
How beneficial, rewarding, and soul-soothing animals can be never ceases to amaze me
One of our best moves ever was to add a frisky bulldog puppy to our family. I’ll never forget taking her to dog training (when she was about 8 months old and my son was 6), and the trainer’s awesome ability to cope with the fact that my son wanted to be trained alongside the puppy rather than playing the part of dog-handler… (He did eventually learn the basic commands. But for the first few months, he and the dog had to work out their respective positions in the family pack.)
So now I have a great dog, plus a son who responds to commands such as “heel”!
What a great story. Thank you for sharing this. M loves dogs and they seem to love her. Even ones whose owners tell us their dogs are not wild about kids…they all end up loving M.
Stitch is not only an integral part of our family, but one of MJ’s best therapists. We cannot say how much Patty from North Star (www.northstardogs.com) understands dogs and autism. Stitch can be seen in the clip from Home Before Dark on North Star’s website.
We have also started Therapeutic Horseback riding with MJ and SJ and found that to be helpful too, but it is much more time limited (about 16 hours per year). I hope Trapper and his family get their dog soon.
Kristina, I just wanted to thank you for posting the articles about therapy dogs and linking to Trapper’s story. I know we all have our own stories and everyday struggles, but we also all have our own times of need. This is definitely one of those times for Trapper’s family. I know Trapper’s mother, Jami, has already received emails of support from some folks that read about them here. Resources are very limited out in remote Alaska, so these e-mails of support and encouragment mean more than you think they do! I hope that someday soon, we’ll be able to report back about Trapper’s dog and the peace it brings to this family. Thank you!
I second Julie Shaffer’s remarks. I’m the new webmaster for 4 Paws for Ability, and I find a common theme in all the requests I’ve seen and uploaded. Assistance dogs play a vital part in each family’s life. These incredible creatures take on huge responsibilities, and little by little, the families can relax in this area or that. Increased joy and laughter become a regular part of each day.
It’s amazing when you analyze all the steps that pups must take as they grow into maturity. So many loving helping hands surround these special canines.
And what a surprising number of dedicated people are giving their time and money to ensuring that the needs of the disabled will be met.
What a thrill for me to watch the progress of these fundraising families…knowing that their entire lifestyle will be enhanced in a year or so. All the interviews I’ve seen speak to this.
@Julie and Judy,
Thank you!
Here’s a video about a service dog for an autistic child, dog named Chewy who is getting surgery –
Kristina, I am a bit delayed in getting to view this video, but wanted to thank you anyway. What a touching story, it’s so wonderful that those involved found Chewy to be such an asset, that they would go through all the trouble to travel and provide the finances to keep him around.