Michael's Service Dog

Michael was born at 26 weeks and weighed 1lb 5oz at birth. He developed a severe intestinal infection when he was a few days old and had to have all but 20cm of small intestine and all large intestine removed. He stayed in the hospital for the entire first 13 months of his life and was on IV nutrition for 8 years. He is truly a miracle and is doing pretty well medically now. During the time that he was so sick he also developed a brain bleed. Some of his current challenges include cognitive delays, speech delay, obsessive compulsive disorder, auditory processing disorder, difficulty transitioning, medical PTSD, and reactive attachment disorder. These behaviors make it very difficult for Michael to develop and maintain friendships. He has also been known to bolt and to impulsively run to strangers.

Michael attends a school that is devoted to children with special education needs. They had a therapy dog there that Michael immediately fell in love with. Each morning when the teachers would ask the students what good behavior treat they were working for Michael always chose visiting with the dog. Michael's outbursts and behaviors calmed noticeably when he had access to the dog. It was during this time that everyone - teachers, therapists, doctors, family - noticed how Michael improved socially, emotionally, as well as cognitively and we all agreed that the sweet dog played a MAJOR role in this remarkable change. This year the dog has another job and is not at school. I would love to see Michael continue to improve and be able to grow and mature in all areas and become more independent with the help of his own support dog.

Some ways a support dog could benefit Michael include helping Michael socially so he could develop friendships, assist him with transitioning from one activity to another, help him calm from meltdowns by providing pressure and someone to hug, calm him during medical procedures, abort his running off, step in between Michael and strangers as he approaches them impulsively, etc. 

Thank you for helping Michael get his new best friend!