With help from over 200 people, we raised more than the necessary $13,500 in under two weeks.  THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH.

Before we tell you the fantastic and exciting news about the service dog. We need your help again.

Sadly, we have decided that we need to find homes (by mid to late December) for our two wonderful dogs: Rosa and Cleatus.  This has been a very hard decision: our dogs both compete for our attention as it is.  We are concerned that having a new dog that gets to go everywhere with us while they have to stay home will be extremely difficult for them.  Additionally, James needs to bond fully with his new helper and it will be easier without the other dogs.   There is also the concern that bringing in a highly trained dog into a home with much laxer doggy rules will also challenge all the dogs concerned.

Rosa is a wonderful Black Lab.  She needs a family where she can get a lot of attention – hopefully a retired household or a household where one member can take her to work each day.  She does not like to stay home by herself.  She is a grinner – showing her teeth in a smile when she's happy.  She also likes to give a lot of kisses.  She's nine years old and so starting her senior years.  She's in great health, loves to chase balls or sticks, but also needs plenty of couch time.  We would prefer that she does to a household where there are no children or other dogs so she can be the “star.”

Cleatus is an American Bull Dog.  He's goofy and fun and wonderful with kids.  He slobbers and sheds and is the best nap companion ever.  He will insinuate himself into every part of your life.  He doesn't play a lot of doggy games (fetch, etc) but he likes to snuggle and to run around.  He's not the dog for you if you don't want dogs on the furniture (or in your lap for that matter), but if you want a great new member of your family, he's the one!

Now, onto the exciting service dog news:

Currently, we are waiting for our dog to finish training.  From the initial group, six yellow lab males have made it from puppy raising to the more formal training.  The dogs are spending most days getting socialized and trained in different environments and around many different people and dogs. They are also busy getting a lot of love and exercise for all their hard work!!!

James' dog will most likely be named Casper, Comet, or Charlie.  These are the three that fit James needs and schedule the best.  We will be getting whichever dog is ready first as they are trying to get us  set before “tax season” is in full swing.  Mark and I will be heading to Lake Oswego, OR for the first part of our training in late January or early February.

After our week in Oregon, the dog will come home with us and rest for two weeks, getting to know us and James.  After that, the trainers will come to Vashon for a week to train all of us on the island on the best way to be with our new family member.  The trainer will help the dog learn to ride the school bus, go on the ferry, go to Thriftway, the doctor's office, etc. 

We will post photos of both training sessions as they happen.

Here are some photos of the current “class” being trained.

We've been making a lot of press because of the amazing support from everyone.

Here are links to some stories:

The story written by Leslie Brown of the Vashon Beachcomber:
http://www.pnwlocalnews.com/vashon/vib/news/19294874.html

The spot on KOMO's Problem Solvers:
http://www.komonews.com/news/19472719.html

Supposedly, Good Morning America will be coming and doing a spot when the dog arrives on island.  We'll make a link to that spot when/if it happens.

If you want to learn more about Autism Service Dogs of America, here is the link to their website:
http://autismservicedogsofamerica.com/

We've been getting some basic questions about Autism.  Here is a special put on by Nickelodeon that does a great job of explaining some of the issues in a clear manner.  It's made for kids which means it is in a clear easy-to-understand format.

http://www.nick.com/turbonick/index.jhtml?extvideoid=66887

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us.