My Aussie for Autism: Journal #5

Our Purpose

My only child, Matthew James, is a very special little boy. Born in November of 1999, I lost him to non-verbal Autism in February 2001. He's the greatest joy of my life, although my heart still aches with hope for his life.

Matthew lives on the periphery of our world, only interacting with me or other members of our family when he wants to, or when he needs something. He's a very good little boy, but I long for him to be able to engage with his us and other aspects of our world more appropriately and comfortably.

Inspired by the idea of Animal Assisted Therapy, especially those dogs who are now being trained for children with Autism, I felt strongly that this complimentary therapy could make a difference in his life.

Unlike other families who wish to obtain an Autism Service Dog that has ALREADY been trained, and therefore a much more significant investment upfront, I felt the best option for our family - most specifically the best option for my son, was to get puppy that could grow and learn WITH him.

I knew I could inspire Matthew's interest in a dog more successfully, if he's given a longer period of time to become accustomed to one. From the day to day acclimation that would be required, he'll come to understand that a puppy learns and grows as he does - and can become a valued member of our family!

And so, I'd like to introduce you to Amistad's Falen aka "Pippi" our special dog for our special needs.

Why an Australian Shepherd?

Aussie's are known for their high level of intelligence and their strong desire to "work." I fell in love with the breed when I worked in an Assisted Living community and met "Buddy," a four year old Australian Shepherd who belonged to one of our residents. He still lives with her at the community in the special wing dedicated to residents with memory impairments. He has a wonderful personality, and it was evident that he thoroughly enjoyed visiting with all of the many people he came into contact with everyday.

In an article from Psychiatric Times, "Therapy with children now part of a dog's life," (which I've also included in our blog's navigation to the right) Child and adolescent psychiatrist Rachel Fleissner, M.D., has two trained dogs assisting her in therapy with children diagnosed with mental and developmental disorders. Those dogs are Australian Shepherds!

Because Australian Shepherds are "sight dogs," they are masters at reading body language, said Fleissner.

Having a child who is non-verbal means having to suffer through a crash-course in reading body language! After much research on the topic of Autism Service Dogs, I knew that the Australian Shepherd breed was going to be a good fit for my son and me.

Whew! It's been three weeks to the day since Pippi has come to live with us here in Texas. Let me try and begin to summarize what has occurred since the day we picked her up from the airport.

My dad, and my brother Jimmy had gone with me to the airport to pick Pippi up. We raced home to my parent's house because my mom and my son were waiting and excited to meet her...and we were all excited to introduce her to who will be her new best doggie friends! First of whom is MacKrell's Annie Getcha Gun, aka "Annie", our family's beloved English Cocker Spaniel who is a Field Champion. She's now living out her retirement, although she still thinks of herself as a spry little girl in spite of having two litters of champion pups. She's our very special little mama!

THEN, there's Osage Mountain's Little Big Man aka "Rowdy." He's my parent's Mini Aussie. He happens to be working VERY hard to keep growing, because he's determined to be a Standard Aussie physically since his personality is already typical of a tough Standard Aussie stock dog! ;) We knew that he and Pippi were destined to be great friends!

After her long flights from Montana to Texas - she was a little wary of all the new changes taking place around her, but she certainly didn't hesitate to give LOTS of hugs and kisses to all the new people who would be her new family. She was a little shy to meet Annie and Rowdy but it only really took about 15 minutes before they were running and chasing each other in my parent's back yard. We thrilled at the site that she fell so rapidly in love with our family. And we all stood around with goofy grins on our faces watching she and Rowdy roughhouse and wrestle as only young dogs can do.

A little later, my sister and her little girls came over to visit and meet Pippi. My sister's oldest daughter, Elissa, fell immediately in love with her. And it was so obvious that Pippi was extremely excited to see a little person who was just about her size. They both marveled at each other! Both chasing each other around and around.

And again, we all stood around laughing and frolicking with our new little girl. My dad turned to me and said.."how much do you LOVE this dog?" And I said..."Way too much!"

My Favorite Quotes About Dogs

Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went
~Will Rogers

There is no psychiatrist in the world like a puppy licking your face.
~Ben Williams

A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.
~Josh Billings

The average dog is a nicer person than the average person.
~Andy Rooney

We give dogs time we can spare, space we can spare and love we can spare. And in return, dogs give us their all. It’s the best deal man has ever made.
~M. Acklam