Labradoodle & Goldendoodle Forum
A Featured Story in our Sunday Paper.
Here is an article I wanted to share with everyone. The people it's about live in my hometown and I've talked with Mary, the person training Jake to assist Colby, the 3 year old with autism. The tickets for the drawing to raise money to help pay for Jake are $5 and they are taking monetary donations. If you are interested in helping, email me and I will send you the information.
For his own good, boy with autism needs his four-legged friend
By Jimmy Tomlin
jtomlin@hpe.com
Nov 23,2008
DON DAVIS JR. | HPE
Three-year-old Colby Brown, who has autism, has been paired with Jake, a service dog who is being trained to comfort and protect Colby.
LEXINGTON - Colby Brown's family has two dogs already, but the dog they don't have - the one they're trying to get - could save Colby's life.
Or, at the very least, his parents' peace of mind.
You see, 3-year-old Colby has autism, a brain development disorder that impairs social interaction and communication skills and causes abnormal behaviors, some of which are merely hindrances to Colby's development, others of which are potentially life-threatening.
Consider darting, for example, a behavior not uncommon to autistic children.
"Sometimes Colby will run, and he won't know what's going on around him, like if there's cars, water, the edge of the porch - that's called darting," explains Colby's mother, Misty Brown, of Lexington. "For some reason, every once in a while he'll just take off running and not know that the steps are there or the side of the porch is there or that there's a car coming."
That's where Jake, an autism support dog, comes into play. Jake, a 1-year-old Labradoodle - a cross between a Labrador retriever and a poodle - is being trained specifically for Colby. When fully trained, the dog will be able to prevent Colby from darting, retrieve him should he wander away from home, and even help calm the child down when he has an autistic meltdown.
"Jake's through with obedience and advanced obedience, and we're starting the autism-specific support behavior now," says Mary Walker, owner of Heritage Specialty Dogs in Stokes County, where Jake is being trained. "Once that's finished, he can go home with Colby."
That could be as soon as late December or early January.
In the meantime, though, Misty Brown and her husband, Daniel, must raise $7,000 to pay for Jake.
"That seems like a lot, but it's less than half the national average," says Walker, who has been training service dogs of different kinds for about 18 years and has trained about 15 dogs for autistic children. "And I deliver the dog, plus I stay with the family a few days to make sure the dog is working out."
To help raise the money, the Browns are selling tickets for a chance to win a signed, limited-edition, framed print of the Bob Timberlake painting "Ella's."
The Browns believe Jake will make a huge difference for Colby, who was diagnosed with autism in November 2007. The diagnosis came nearly a year and a half after Colby had begun to lose his language and social interaction skills.
Colby's darting, for example, shouldn't be a problem with Jake around, because Jake is being trained to block Colby's path.
"The dog will block him if he's headed into danger - it won't let him do that," Misty says.
Jake also should be able to help Colby better cope with being in public, which has been a major struggle for the family. At public places such as malls and grocery stores, Colby lies on his back and refuses to walk.
"You have to pick him up and carry him," Misty says. "That wasn't a problem when he used to weigh less, but now he's 41 pounds, so I can only carry him for so much longer."
At other times in public, Colby has what most onlookers would call a tantrum, but what Misty knows to be an autism meltdown.
"He can't process everything that's going on around him, and he just cries and there's no fixing it," she explains. "You just have to pick him up and leave."
With Jake leading him, however, Colby should do just fine in public places, Walker says. She recalls another family who had a similar situation with their son, but with his autism support dog, he walked from one end of Hanes Mall to the other and was still smiling when he got done.
"That would be amazing," Misty says.
Jake also will be able to distract Colby from stimulatory behavior such as stamping his feet or bouncing repetitively - and even self-harming behavior - as well as track Colby should he ever get lost.
And for Colby's meltdowns, Jake is being trained to crawl onto Colby's lap to calm and distract him.
"Basically," Walker says, "Jake will provide a comforting presence that only a dog can provide."
For his own good, boy with autism needs his four-legged friend
By Jimmy Tomlin
jtomlin@hpe.com
Nov 23,2008
DON DAVIS JR. | HPE
Three-year-old Colby Brown, who has autism, has been paired with Jake, a service dog who is being trained to comfort and protect Colby.
LEXINGTON - Colby Brown's family has two dogs already, but the dog they don't have - the one they're trying to get - could save Colby's life.
Or, at the very least, his parents' peace of mind.
You see, 3-year-old Colby has autism, a brain development disorder that impairs social interaction and communication skills and causes abnormal behaviors, some of which are merely hindrances to Colby's development, others of which are potentially life-threatening.
Consider darting, for example, a behavior not uncommon to autistic children.
"Sometimes Colby will run, and he won't know what's going on around him, like if there's cars, water, the edge of the porch - that's called darting," explains Colby's mother, Misty Brown, of Lexington. "For some reason, every once in a while he'll just take off running and not know that the steps are there or the side of the porch is there or that there's a car coming."
That's where Jake, an autism support dog, comes into play. Jake, a 1-year-old Labradoodle - a cross between a Labrador retriever and a poodle - is being trained specifically for Colby. When fully trained, the dog will be able to prevent Colby from darting, retrieve him should he wander away from home, and even help calm the child down when he has an autistic meltdown.
"Jake's through with obedience and advanced obedience, and we're starting the autism-specific support behavior now," says Mary Walker, owner of Heritage Specialty Dogs in Stokes County, where Jake is being trained. "Once that's finished, he can go home with Colby."
That could be as soon as late December or early January.
In the meantime, though, Misty Brown and her husband, Daniel, must raise $7,000 to pay for Jake.
"That seems like a lot, but it's less than half the national average," says Walker, who has been training service dogs of different kinds for about 18 years and has trained about 15 dogs for autistic children. "And I deliver the dog, plus I stay with the family a few days to make sure the dog is working out."
To help raise the money, the Browns are selling tickets for a chance to win a signed, limited-edition, framed print of the Bob Timberlake painting "Ella's."
The Browns believe Jake will make a huge difference for Colby, who was diagnosed with autism in November 2007. The diagnosis came nearly a year and a half after Colby had begun to lose his language and social interaction skills.
Colby's darting, for example, shouldn't be a problem with Jake around, because Jake is being trained to block Colby's path.
"The dog will block him if he's headed into danger - it won't let him do that," Misty says.
Jake also should be able to help Colby better cope with being in public, which has been a major struggle for the family. At public places such as malls and grocery stores, Colby lies on his back and refuses to walk.
"You have to pick him up and carry him," Misty says. "That wasn't a problem when he used to weigh less, but now he's 41 pounds, so I can only carry him for so much longer."
At other times in public, Colby has what most onlookers would call a tantrum, but what Misty knows to be an autism meltdown.
"He can't process everything that's going on around him, and he just cries and there's no fixing it," she explains. "You just have to pick him up and leave."
With Jake leading him, however, Colby should do just fine in public places, Walker says. She recalls another family who had a similar situation with their son, but with his autism support dog, he walked from one end of Hanes Mall to the other and was still smiling when he got done.
"That would be amazing," Misty says.
Jake also will be able to distract Colby from stimulatory behavior such as stamping his feet or bouncing repetitively - and even self-harming behavior - as well as track Colby should he ever get lost.
And for Colby's meltdowns, Jake is being trained to crawl onto Colby's lap to calm and distract him.
"Basically," Walker says, "Jake will provide a comforting presence that only a dog can provide."
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by LeAnn, Lucy & Rusty!! on
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Dogs.. all dogs.. are amazing.. absolutely amazing.. Thanks so much for sharing the story!
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Permalink Reply by Holly Paterniti on
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What a wonderful story :) I am a Special Education Teacher and it is great to see the kids progress. Dogs are wonderful and I could never not have one in my life.........especially our Chocolate Labradoodle named Bear. I am looking forward to start his training and later become a therapy dog :) I want to take him to Akron Children's Hospital and become one of the Doggie Brigade.
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Permalink Reply by 2hl9mp3c2fuam on
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Thanks for sharing, I will email you.
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Donated this morning!! Please keep us updated!! Thanks so much.
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