Who Wyatt is….
- A child, like all others, who is “fearfully and wonderfully made.”
- A naturalist who respects and loves all things in nature.
- An inventor who thinks deeply, creatively, and “out of the box.”
- A reader who enjoys books immensely!
- Our affectionate little boy who is loved gobs and gobs…
- Wyatt lacks impulse control, and often “leaps before looking” which results in physical endangerment to himself and sometimes others. (We have the gray hairs and medical bills to prove it.)
- Sensory integration issues- the sights, sounds and smells of the environment are processed differently by him. Music that seems melodic to most people grates on his last nerve. Strong odors gag him, as do many types of food. Certain values of lights “hurt his eyes.”
- The rules of social engagement completely elude him. We refer to him as the governor of the State of Oblivion. Children can be pretty brutal in social situations. He unfortunately is the target of a playground bully already, and it is only a matter of time before others follow suit.
- Our biggest concern is that no one is a stranger. He would go with anyone without the slightest hesitation. He also has a tendency to SPRINT off (without looking for cars or other dangers). This is the combination that most scares us. As you know, not everyone has good intentions towards kids. Help us keep him safe.
So, how is this dog going to help him? And why not just go to the shelter and pick out a nice one?
A SERVICE DOG is different than a pet. It will still live in our home and get plenty of love like a regular pet, but this dog will be allowed to be the transition piece to independence that Wyatt needs. Let’s face it, most kids at the age of eight or nine do not have their parents holding their hand in a death grip while in public. They don’t have to ride in the cart at Sam’s Club because the clerks recognize the “Code Adam” customers from their child bolting AGAIN. Most kids are allowed to ride a bicycle further than the end of the driveway. They have friends and play at one another’s houses. Wyatt needs these opportunities too.
A “paws”itive step in the right direction….
A service dog is especially trained to meet the needs of the child whom the dog is partnered with. Wyatt’s service dog will be custom “TAIL”-ored to meet his needs. His dog (whom he would like to name Rex) will be allowed all of the privileges of a seeing-eye dog or a dog that helps a person in a wheelchair. Rex would hang out with Wyatt everywhere he goes. At a store? Rex will be either on a wrist leash or tethered to Wyatt’s belt loop. No more sprinting out into the parking lot or vanishing like Houdini. The magnifying glass of judgment would be trained on Rex as opposed to Wyatt. In school? Wyatt has a furry friend who will not make fun of him. He has a playground companion that will help shield him against the bully. If a behavioral meltdown happens at school, Rex would be trained to sit ON Wyatt’s lap. If Wyatt gets anxious and starts biting his fingernails (until they bleed, which is a regular occurrence during the school year), Rex would nudge Wyatt with his nose or touch Wyatt with his paw to distract him from this self-injurious behavior. Rex would help keep Wyatt safer in a variety of situations. Dogs paired with children have an amazing calming effect on their mood and behavior. None of the pharmaceutical interventions have worked well with Wyatt. He has experienced some really ugly side effects from every one we have tried (which is about fifteen different kinds of medications.) Some assistance dogs are even trained in Search-And-Rescue for children who need this intervention. It is really amazing what can happen with these animals.
So that brings us to……..
4 Paws for Ability!
Taking the “dis” out of disABILITY!! .
There are several wonderful organizations that train dogs to be service animals. Why did we choose 4 Paws? There are a few reasons:
1. They do not turn away any applicant based on ability or disability. This means if they can train a dog to meet the needs of the person, they will do it. If you get a chance to visit the website, read the stories of the truly amazing and wonderful people who make up this organization. www.4pawsforability.org
2. They are the first and the largest training facility of dogs that Wyatt qualifies for. We applied for an Autism/ADHD assistance dog for Wyatt. The 4 Paws folks know that families who are entrusted with these kids have unique situations.
3. The 4 Paws organization does not have a religious basis, but the way they run their organization makes God smile; I am sure of it. They rescue animals from shelters. They have prison inmates do basic command training with the dogs to give the inmates a sense of helping others. They do not turn away based on financial need. If a dog has been trained as a service dog, but they discover it is ill or unsuitable for whatever reason, they find a home for it and don’t just destroy it. They seem to operate with a double dose of integrity.

Sounds magical, doesn’t it? Well, sometimes magic needs a little extra zing… and we are so very grateful for your assistance!
Here is the nitty-gritty money part. It costs 4 Paws between $5,000 and $16,000 to fully train and certify assistance dogs. We have been accepted into the program and the exact amount we are required to raise for Rex’s training and keeping is $11,000.
That is a huge amount of money.
My friend, Renee, reminded me it is like one of those credit card commercials.....
Dog food $39
Collar and harness $26
Autism assistance dog $11,000
Changing a child's life forever - PRICELESS.....
If you have been linked to this site, the person who sent it to you knows us or Wyatt personally. Would you be willing to send $5, $10 or whatever you are able to help us in this quest?
Wyatt Steven’s name needs to be in the memo portion of any check or money order that is sent to 4 Paws.
All contributions are tax-deductible. This is a 501c3 organization. If you go to the website you can make a secure donation there, or you can do the stamp and envelope thing. The address is...
4Paws for Ability
253 Dayton Avenue
Xenia, Ohio 45385
or if you are a computer person, click this link (4 Paws has PayPal and everything!)
www.4pawsforability.org
The email address is karen4paws@aol.com to enter in the appropriate place.
Please indicate that the contribution is in honor of Wyatt. This is so that the fundraising dollars are tagged toward his (your) efforts. Once the set amount has been raised, our family will go to Ohio for two weeks so we can be trained. Dad will be the primary handler. Rex will be better trained than Wyatt at that point, so Daddy and Wyatt will have some catching up to do! (Oh man, I wonder if they can get him to lift the toilet seat? But I digress..) After Wyatt and Dad are trained to handle a service animal, they next will train with Rex. Graduation day is the final ceremony, and Wyatt and Rex will take responsibility of each other (with some help) and Wyatt will receive his new best friend. How soon this miracle occurs is up to the generosity of people like you who care. We would love to know who has been to this site. It's kind of like six degrees from Wyatt. :) Please sign in the comments section and pass the word around.
We are humbled and so grateful for the contributions you are dedicating to our Wyatt. There are no words to express the full measure of appreciation we feel. Consider your halo duly polished!
