Caleb is our beautiful 8 year old son, he has autism and an intellectual disability and is non-verbal. Caleb has been approved by 'Smart Pups' for an autism assistance dog. An assistance dog will be of huge benefit for Caleb. A big aspect of his disability is his severe anxiety. Caleb's dog will be able to accompany him anywhere. It is very likely that his dog will reduce his anxiety considerably, and increase his confidence, independence and his communication skills. Caleb's world is very limited as his anxiety means that we can rarely take him anywhere other than to school. His assistance dog is likely to enable him to be able to go to shops, restaurants, parks and many other places. This will open up his world, and provide him with wonderful experiences. It will also mean that we can get out together as a family, something which we can rarely do.
Smartpups is the organisation which will buy, train and then place Caleb's dog with our family. Their website is smartpups.org.au and there is lots of information there about the training of the pups, and the wonderful help that they are providing for these kids.
We need to raise a total of $20,000 before Smart pups can purchase a pup and commence training. This money will pay for the pups training, which is very intensive. Smarts pups is a registered charity and donations over $2 are tax-deductable. If anyone wishes to make a donation, they need to state 'Caleb Grant' when donating, for the donation to be counted towards the $20,000 that we need to raise. Any assistance, or the sharing of this page would be so gratefully received.
Hello Caleb, Hope you get your dream dog helper. Love from Shannon's familyxx