Got to have a little patience...

I've never been known for my patience. It really isn't a strength of mine. As I get older, I think I am getting better at it, however its still not my strong suit. With that said, I am so excited to find out whether we will "match" with Wyatt's dog this month!! I check my phone at least 400 times a day, to be sure I didn't miss an email or phone call.

We started the service dog journey in January 2015. After my husband and I were on the same page, I started to look for which organization would be the best fit. There are different kinds of organizations when it comes to service dogs. There are some that are for profit, some that are non-profit, some that train all kinds of service dogs and some that specialize in autism service dogs.  Oh my goodness, how do I make this kind of decision?

Ironically, I mentioned that I was researching autism service dogs to a work friend. Who said, you know Susie Cupcake (changing persons name) volunteers with a company that trains service dogs. What? Really?  I work in medical publishing and get the benefit of working with nurse educators. Susie Cupcake is a nurse educator who had developed a product we sell. I had the opportunity to meet her at a couple of times; however had no idea she worked with service dogs.It truly amazes me how people have been in my life at the perfect time!

Needless to say, I emailed her immediately with a page full of questions. She immediately responded, one of the first things she said, " I must tell you that I am not certain how objective I can be in this discussion because this work is the most rewarding service that I have ever done. I am so touched by the manner in which a dog changes the life of persons and families. it is absolutely remarkable - each and every time - no matter how many stories I hear watch, read about or witness."

She worked with an organization who trained dogs to become autism service dogs. The organization she worked with was in a different state and only serves families in a 50-70 mile radius. Therefore, she gave me some great advice on what to look for when researching different organizations.

During my research, with her criteria in mind, I came across a non-profit organization called Good Dog! Autism Companions. I read every single line of their website, then schedule my "free chat" with the Executive Director and Founder of the company. This call took place in January 2015.  After our call, I knew this was the organization I wanted to work with, so I officially applied. Some of my favorite things about Good Dog! Autism Companions:

1) Laura, the Executive Director and Founder, is a mom to a son with autism. She gets it!!
2) They only use positive re-enforcement training methods for their dogs, as taught by Bonnie Bergin at Bergin University of Canine Studies.
3) I loved that they worked with a Canine University.
4) The follow ADI (Assistance Dog International) training, team and support standards.
5) They are a non-profit.
6) Their dogs are golden retrievers and labs. We love both of those breeds.
7) They provided very in-depth training for dog handler (me).

We were accepted into Good Dogs! Autism Companions program. The cost to train each dog is $26,000. We were tasked to raise $13,000 (half the cost), once we hit the $7000 mark we would be put on the waiting list for a dog. I couldn't believe this was happening!!

I've never been part of a fundraising effort, let alone lead the effort. Good Dog! Autism Companions has a fundraising page for the families in the program. I immediately created Wyatt's customized page. If individuals wanted to donate, they could go online to Wyatt's page and make the donation. Each time we got a donation, I would receive an email.  I started making a list of ideas. I should post on my facebook page so my friends and family knew we were fundraising. I thought about organizing a 5K and 10K (I'm a runner) with our local sports store. Thought maybe I could work with some local restaurants to host a night for Wyatt and give us a percentage of sales. The list started to grow.

On February 7, 2015 at 8:34 am I posted a message on Facebook sharing our fundraising efforts and a link to Wyatt's Good Dog! Autism Companions page.  My inbox started to explode. My facebook friends started sharing my post, their friends and family started sharing on their facebook page, and donations were starting to come in. By, Feb 9, 2015 at 6:03 am we had raised $8594 and were officially on the waiting list! I was overwhelmed with people's generosity. I knew that eventually the donations would slow down and I would need to start with my other efforts. Five days later, on Feb 12th we had hit our goal! Ladies and gentlemen, we raised $13,000 in five days via social media! We set a Good Dog! Autism record. Our final donations ended at $14,194.89! AMAZING!!!!

Needless to say we were completely overwhelmed by everyone's generosity. I was amazed by the number of people who donated - friends from my autism circle, friends from my childhood, friends I've made over my adult years, family, my family's friends, my work colleagues, my work colleagues parents, my husband's work colleagues, my husband's friends, my niece's girl scout troop,  a local Roden & Fields team, our realtor, our realtor's daughter, therapist that had worked with Wyatt, the list goes on.

Many times during our autism journey, I have felt very scared. I worry that people will accept my son. I worry that people will accept me as I fight for his needs. I worry that I am providing enough therapies, resources, and tools for Wyatt. I have amazing support system, friends and family who have went through this journey with me. I however had no idea how many other people supported and loved us! My husband and I were astonished at the number of people who donated for the good of our child and family.

Over the course of the year, I have tried to restrain myself from emailing Laura to ask her how much longer she thought. We were told in our first call to expect the process to take 18 months to 2 years. I knew that we would not get a dog immediately (which again Susie Cupcake informed me that service dog organization typical wait list was 2 years).

Good Dog! Autism Organization has several dogs in the training program. They hand select each dog, once the dog is selected they start training at 8 weeks of age. The first year (and plus) of the dog's life, he/she is being trained on basic, advanced skills and public access skills. Once a dog is matched with a family, the dog's training is customized based on the child's and family's needs.

At the end of March 2016, we received an email saying we were part of the match process. If we match, we will start working with our dog's trainer on getting the dog trained based on Wyatt's needs. I will travel to California in July, to go through 5 days of "boot camp" training with the dog and trainer. After graduation, I will fly home with Wyatt's forever friend.

 If you would like to learn more about the extensive match process, please read the following:

http://gooddogautismcompanions.org/dog-blogs/2015/8/31/good-dog-matching-how-we-find-your-forever-pup.html .

We now wait, we wait to see if one of these dogs is Wyatt's. I can't tell you how excited I am. It's like waiting the arrival of a new child. I look at the dogs who are ready to be matched, trying to guess which one might be ours. I talk to my husband about different names for the dog (we get to rename the dog). I think about what things we need to buy. I think about organizing the travel for boot camp. I think about the boot camp training. Then I remind myself that we are not guaranteed to match this round. That if we don't match this time, it's okay. One day we will have a service dog, it will be the perfect dog for Wyatt. Trust the system. Be patient!!