Bentley + Palmer, a boy and his dog
Donation protected
I don’t remember where we were the first time Bentley learned about service dogs, but it was well over a year ago. Off-handedly I had told him that sometimes kids with Autism qualify for service animals... oops.
“When do I get my dog that follows me everywhere?”
”How long do we have to wait until I get a dog that comes with me?”
”Do you think my dog that is always with me will be a boy dog or a girl dog?”
Weekly, if not daily, he peppered me with questions about this dog he was sure was coming to him. I placated him with answers that were just good enough to make the questions stop and reminded myself to complete yet another service dog application that will more than likely never be responded to.
After learning about the number of Autism Service dogs being trained as it compares to the number of applications received (think 300:1), I wasn’t feeling very hopeful, but I though I’d reach out to a Facebook friend (read: minister who married Mike and me who happens to be the ED of Pawsitivity Service Dogs) to see if he had any words of wisdom about the application process.
Through a spontaneous yet thorough conversation via Facebook Messenger on a Friday night, we chatted through Bentley’s diagnosis, symptoms, our family dynamics, current pets, and even managed to set up an in-person meeting at Children’s where Paxton was having surgery the following Monday. Enter Palmer.
Pawsitivity had been training Palmer for a child with Autism in another state. In fact, she had moved down there to be a part of their forever family but unfortunate circumstances prevented them from being able to home her. So there we were... this completely-trained, delightfully personable, three year old Golden Retriever, Tom from Pawsitivity, and me... sitting at the foot of Paxton’s recovery bed. “On paper, your family is far from an ideal candidate family,” Tom admits. “But what do you think about trying a foster week? See if you can live with a dog, if she can live with the cats, if the little kids can tolerate it, and if Bentley even ends up acknowledging her.” I readily accepted the opportunity to give it a try.
And now we’re here. Palmer has been living with us for about 2 weeks, and it’s like she’s always been here...but better. Bentley has the constant companion he’s always sought. She sleeps with him, eats with him, walks with him, rolls on the floor with him, chases things around the yard with him, and when he’s dysregulated or having a melt down, she’s always right there with him. And he already knows he can depend on her.
My next challenge is to keep her here for good. Palmer is already everything to Bentley, and I want to be able to keep them together.
The bottom line is that autism is expensive. We pay for OT and feeding and swallowing therapy and individual therapy and autism skills and group skills and family guidance. We go to the doctor for things like, “he hasn’t actually ingested any of his food in 3 weeks - just chewing and spitting.” We buy GPS trackers because we’re tired of phoning the police department for losing track of him for hours only to have him show up in the neighbors’ hedges. All of it helps, but it also all adds up. And now, here we are with one of the rarest and most influential treatment options we’ve ever encountered, and to make her a permanent part of our family, we need to come up with $19,500.
Anything you can give is a tremendous blessing to our family. The support of our friends and family means everything to us.
“When do I get my dog that follows me everywhere?”
”How long do we have to wait until I get a dog that comes with me?”
”Do you think my dog that is always with me will be a boy dog or a girl dog?”
Weekly, if not daily, he peppered me with questions about this dog he was sure was coming to him. I placated him with answers that were just good enough to make the questions stop and reminded myself to complete yet another service dog application that will more than likely never be responded to.
After learning about the number of Autism Service dogs being trained as it compares to the number of applications received (think 300:1), I wasn’t feeling very hopeful, but I though I’d reach out to a Facebook friend (read: minister who married Mike and me who happens to be the ED of Pawsitivity Service Dogs) to see if he had any words of wisdom about the application process.
Through a spontaneous yet thorough conversation via Facebook Messenger on a Friday night, we chatted through Bentley’s diagnosis, symptoms, our family dynamics, current pets, and even managed to set up an in-person meeting at Children’s where Paxton was having surgery the following Monday. Enter Palmer.
Pawsitivity had been training Palmer for a child with Autism in another state. In fact, she had moved down there to be a part of their forever family but unfortunate circumstances prevented them from being able to home her. So there we were... this completely-trained, delightfully personable, three year old Golden Retriever, Tom from Pawsitivity, and me... sitting at the foot of Paxton’s recovery bed. “On paper, your family is far from an ideal candidate family,” Tom admits. “But what do you think about trying a foster week? See if you can live with a dog, if she can live with the cats, if the little kids can tolerate it, and if Bentley even ends up acknowledging her.” I readily accepted the opportunity to give it a try.
And now we’re here. Palmer has been living with us for about 2 weeks, and it’s like she’s always been here...but better. Bentley has the constant companion he’s always sought. She sleeps with him, eats with him, walks with him, rolls on the floor with him, chases things around the yard with him, and when he’s dysregulated or having a melt down, she’s always right there with him. And he already knows he can depend on her.
My next challenge is to keep her here for good. Palmer is already everything to Bentley, and I want to be able to keep them together.
The bottom line is that autism is expensive. We pay for OT and feeding and swallowing therapy and individual therapy and autism skills and group skills and family guidance. We go to the doctor for things like, “he hasn’t actually ingested any of his food in 3 weeks - just chewing and spitting.” We buy GPS trackers because we’re tired of phoning the police department for losing track of him for hours only to have him show up in the neighbors’ hedges. All of it helps, but it also all adds up. And now, here we are with one of the rarest and most influential treatment options we’ve ever encountered, and to make her a permanent part of our family, we need to come up with $19,500.
Anything you can give is a tremendous blessing to our family. The support of our friends and family means everything to us.
Organizer
Sydney Baker
Organizer
Minneapolis, MN