Thank You

"I dwell in possibility."
- Emily Dickenson

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It was early October when the publisher contacted me and asked if I would review Nuala Gardner's book A Friend Like Henry. I said yes. The book is about a boy with autism and how a dog named Henry helped him make amazing strides.

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Our hands are quite full with two kids and three cats but I'd been having a strange longing for a dog. It was inexplicable, but the doggie lust was strong, and did not seem to be going away.

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Inspired after reading the book, I googled *dogs and autism* and *dogs and Asperger's* in an effort to find out if service dogs might be beneficial for higher functioning kids, like Riley.

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They are.

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After much discussion, we decided to go for it. This would require us for the first time ever to involve others in an intervention we are trying for Riley, as the organization we're working with, 4 Paws for Ability does not allow the dogs to be purchased. Each family must raise the funds for their dog. The goal we needed to reach was 11 thousand dollars.* Asking for help and opening ourselves up to unsolicited input was difficult. We had to put our own egos aside, and ask ourselves what was best for Riley. Maybe the dog won't help? We don't know, but we felt we had to try. We made the leap.

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In November, Todd and I went door to door, dropping off fliers in our immediate neighborhood. We went down only four streets, the ones we'll mostly be walking the dog on. We felt it would be a great social opportunity for Riley, if our neighbors knew who she was and felt a part of things. I got phone calls that very day from neighbors excited about the dog and wanting to help.

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The next day I posted about our service dog effort for the first time on the blog. The response was amazing. So many people rooting for Riley. It makes me weepy just thinking about it.

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Then there was the concert. How could we ever express our gratitude to the musicians, and our friends and family who helped, and the people who came out to support us? How?

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Over the holidays, we got a couple of large corporate donations that were a big surprise. They really kicked our totals up a notch.

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As of last week, we had less than $1000.00 to go.

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Or so we thought.

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Turns out in the home stretch, Todd's parents came through donating that last chunk of change, putting us over our total.

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And that was that.

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When we started, we thought it might take up to a year to raise the money. Two months later, we've already met out goal. Every step of the way we have had the opportunity to educate people about Asperger's and build community. What a gift.

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Ask and it is given.

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Now comes the hard part, waiting.

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We have to spend ten days at the 4 Paws facility, being trained as a family with the dog. The first training class we can get into is in October!!! In the meantime, we will continue videotaping Riley, capturing all the behaviors we are hoping the dog will be able to help with. We'll be buying supplies, preparing for this new family member, wondering if it will be a boy or a girl. What color? What breed?

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We'll keep you posted every step of the way.

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The Universe is ready and waiting to deliver your dreams to your doorstep, if you let go and allow it to happen.

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Thank you so much for being part of our dream for Riley.

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* Each service dog receives between 400-600 hours of training before ever being placed with a family. Broken down, that is between $18 and $25 dollars per hour of training. The dogs have been boarded and have received all vet care for a year prior to being placed.