Alec's Autism Service Dog: The Process

A service dog is usually 12 months old when it goes into formal training.  From that age, they are trained for 11 months to be an autism assistance dog.  As a family (with a LOT of help and generosity), we raised the required $13,000 on behalf of 4 Paws for Ability, Inc.  Their web site is www.4pawsforability.org.  It costs them $22,000 to fully train each service dog.  They do their own fundraising to make up the difference. 


We had to fill out a lot of paperwork and send in video of Alec, so the trainers can better understand Alec's needs.  More about our fundraising process and story can be found at: https://sites.google.com/site/alec4paws/


For 2 weeks in April, we will be in Xenia, Ohio at the 4 Paws facility.  We will train with Alec and his dog, learning all the commands that can be used, as well as what the dog is capable of doing.  A great overview of Autism Assistance service dogs can be found here: http://4pawsforability.org/autism-assistance-dog/


As we begin this journey, I (Christina, AKA "Mom") will be blogging our photos and experiences to share :)


-Christina

A Blog is Born!

I chose this title, "A Puzzle Named Alec", to represent the complex world of autism spectrum disorders, and to more completely tell the story of our journey with Alec. Alec is my son, and will soon be 9 years old. He will be getting an autism assistance/service dog from 4 Paws for Ability in Ohio at the end of March 2014. Just 3 short months away! This blog will allow me to share more of that story without posting every little thing on Facebook :) Thank you for having an interest in Alec's journey.



-Christina