A Life Changing Assistance Dog for Isaac
Update
26 Dec 2023
Isaac, Dhia and Sarah & Grant would like to wish you a Merry Christmas as we celebrate our first Christmas with Dhia in our family. Dhia had a photo with Isaac and Santa when Santa came to our street on the fire truck.
Thank you for all of your support over the journey so far. We are also very happy to tell you that we are up to the next stage of training Dhia for detecting and alerting. She is now being trained to smell Isaac’s breath & saliva and now other bodily smells. We are also in more intensive training towards her red jacket public access test.
We are looking forward to an awesome new year, and pray for an awesome new year for you too.
Update
04 Jul 2023
Dear Supporters, we are so excited to tell you that the alert training has commenced. WOOF! We had an intense 4 hour session to start this training and to address a few dog behaviour issues. We are so thankful for this team effort from supporters and of course the team from Dogs For Life. This is not an easy journey nor is it a quick one but it is definitely a worthwhile one.
Update
08 May 2023
We are in handover/transition stage for a while yet and still having intensive sessions several times a day on most days. We have a strict daily schedule which is expanding as we go. We are now able to go to a cafe, a shop, the library, set walks, a park for frisbee fun and training. Isaac's favourite bonding activity is Butter Hands where Dhia licks butter off his hands or anywhere else we might put it. This gets Isaac used to her licking him and if get Dhia used to Isaac and his smell and taste. It's a beautiful friendship to watch develop. They also like playing Hide & Seek. Dhia doesn't socialise with other dogs as she needs to stay focussed on Isaac. She is such a joy to our family life and we look forward to growing together.
Update
20 Apr 2023
It's been 48 hours since Isaac's Life Changing Assistance Dog arrived. Her proper name is Dhia. Isaac already knows her name. He loves Dhia. She sleeps in a crate in Isaac's bedroom. This stage is all about the dog transitioning into our family and our home life. Our days at the moment consist of 4 walks/day, feeding, bonding activities and a park session. We welcome to our family.
We look forward to Isaac bonding even more with Dhia and forming a lifelong friendship.
Update
15 Apr 2023
Sad news:
Isaac's Grandad passed away recently. They were very close and we miss Grandad/Dad/Bob so very much. Grandad greatly supported this initiative and he will now see it come to fruition from heaven.
Exciting news:
We have the Superdog arriving on Tuesday 18 April. Yes, you read that correctly. In a matter of a few days she will arrive to her new home and family. We have had a switch in dogs. The dog is such a ray of sunshine in this time and we are very much looking forward to welcoming our new family member.
We have an exciting but busy handover period which includes 4 walks/day. I'm sorry but we can't welcome any visitors in the early stage of her transition to her new home so that she settles and gets comfy with us, but contact us soon if you'd like to meet her.
Thank you to all who have supported this in any way. It's pay off time. It's really happening and we are so so grateful for your contribution of prayers, creating awareness, $ and encouragement.
Update
20 Feb 2023
Meet Juni... This dog, Juni, has been carefully hand selected to become a medical alert dog, and more specifically Isaac's Superdog! The last dog chosen didn't quite mature enough and was too hyperactive to be partnered with a child so now we have a new focus on Juni. This is not 100% guaranteed just yet. Isaac was born in June so that seems like a good sign. This dog is a wonder dog and has a super super sonic sensitive smelling nose.
It is also getting very very real now as we are talking about possible handover dates with the dog organisation and planning around that..... OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Below are links to 2 videos to see her in action. Jump on and have a look.
https://youtube.com/shorts/GMjeXSALgA0?feature=share
https://youtube.com/shorts/Ju3-FwfDUmw?feature=share
Update
13 Feb 2023
Ogres racing your way!
After playing a game of real-life patience, there is good news for anyone who has pre-ordered the board game Racing Ogres. They are now only a month from being shipped and will then find their way to their new owners.
The board game, designed and produced by Isaac’s Godfather Matt Humphreys, has already done a great job in helping raise awareness of Isaac’s condition and has generated a donation of $1189.72 towards attaining a life-changing assistance dog that will perform groundbreaking ammonia detection work.
Matt says, “I am so stoked to have my game printed and shared for such a great cause. I am really excited for it to arrive.”
So get ready because ogres are racing your way!
Update
02 Feb 2023
As I write the update today, Isaac has vomited at school and is home whilst I watching him like a hawk assessing if this is high ammonia. I can't wait for this dog, it will really change our lives.
It's been a long time since our last big update. That's because it's hard to talk about what has happened in the last 6 months... Isaac had a very bad period of being seriously unwell. He spent 5+ weeks in Sydney Kids Hospital and is still not back to his usual. Isaac had several occassions of high ammonia and one of those times it was the highest since he was a newborn baby. Without going into detail, he was very very ill and required emergency surgery to get IV access. Since then he has 2 new gadgets: Meet "Sue", short for Peggy Sue who is a gastrostomy tube aka PEG and also "Cath", short for portacath. He is currently taking 27 tablets/sachets of medicine eve ryday. That's about all I can say about that. My heart still aches.
On a positive note though, Isaac has started Year 3 this week and has done tremendously well. We are so proud of this young boy and the resilience he shows and the way he incorporates his health experiences into everyday life. "Sue" and "Cath" get breakfast and dinner (meds) every day.
We are also very excited to say that we are awaiting a call from the Program Manager in the next few days to discuss the dog handover. The last update we received was that the original dog did not mature to the level needed to work with young children. We now have another dog in sight who has a super, mega, 1-in-a-million kind of sensitive nose, perfect for Isaac. She could be joining our family in a matter of a weeks. Yay!
Update
27 Oct 2022
Looking to back an awesome project, board game and Isaac?
Godfather Matty Humphreys launches his new board game and uses the opportunity to $ support Isaac and raise awareness of his very rare condition. What an awesome person! Hooray, thank you and well done Matty.
100 backers needed to get this up. To support this, you can pledge to buy a board game...for your family, friends or as a gift. Go to: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/morethan6/racing-ogres?fbclid=IwAR15-XK6PvL4x-TR60rfCXP1sfY6f1YxDQLH6zgftTV98jGYglvPiDZSwKc
And Isaac and Matty are local famous! To read about this in our local newspaper go to:
https://www.theleader.com.au/story/7950746/serious-side-to-family-fun/?cs=1507&fbclid=IwAR2uedJy119N3A0SC7tWXQtk6U29XR0oTXmxKSHc8nW_-6Xo7OC0pZyu7rU
Update
10 Aug 2022
Pics are of the most recent sessions where we are all learning how to handle assistance dogs (these particular dogs are going to other families). Isaac has been learning holding the leash, walking with the dog + trolley, the dog will find Isaac if he goes 'walk about', using the dog to help regulate emotions, considering others, the dog assisting Isaac to be road safe. Us parents have also had separate sessions to learn many things around dog handling too!
Thank you for all of the ongoing prayers and financial support. We keep you all in our prayers too.
DONATIONS188
Anonymous
Fri, 10 Feb 2023
$ 1000
$ 1000
Anonymous
Thu, 9 Feb 2023
$ 50
$ 50
Sutherland Shire Toy Restoration Centre
Wed, 8 Feb 2023
$ 2000
We hope this helps you to reach your goal and good luck for the future.
We hope this helps you to reach your goal and good luck for the future.
$ 2000
Jan Kennedy
Sun, 5 Feb 2023
$ 20
All the best. Hope you reach your target.
All the best. Hope you reach your target.
$ 20
Eunice Wingrove
Mon, 19 Dec 2022
$ 500
This is for Isaac and his family to have a fabulous assistance dog. All the very best, Eunice to Dodsy and his special family.
This is for Isaac and his family to have a fabulous assistance dog. All the very best, Eunice to Dodsy and his special family.
$ 500