Individual Thank You's

There's generally a long lag time between when donations come in and when we get our list of donors. Even after we get our next donor list, I don't think we'll ever know all of the people who helped us along the way.

Below is an incomplete and imperfect thank you list. We're leaving off last names, for privacy reasons. I didn't include duplicate names, so a number of these actually count as multiple people. (And sorry if we missed you for some reason!)

Even taking all of that into account, please note the length of the list below...

Thank you:

Abby
Abigail
Aiden
Aimee
Airionna
Alan
Alex
Alexa
Alexis
Allanair
Allen
Alysen
Alyson
Amanda
Amber
Amy
Andie
Andrew
Angel
Angie
Anna
Anthony
Arie
Asher
Ashlee
Ashley
Ashton
Autumn
Barbara
Becky
Ben
Bennett
Billie
Billy
Blake
Bob
Brady
Brandi
Brandon
Breanna
Brenda
Brian
Bridy
Brill
Britta
Brittnay
Brooke
Bryan
Caitlin
Caleb
Cameron
Casey
Catie
Cecil
Chad
Chelsea
Chelsie
Chloe
Christian
Christianna
Christina
Ciarra
Cierra
Cindy
Clark
Cleveland
Clyde
Codi
Cody
Colton
Conner
Connie
Corbin
Courtney
Craig
Cynthia
Dallas
Dalton
Dana
Daniel
Danielle
Darby
Dave
David
Dawson
Debbie
Derrick
Desiree
Destinee
Devin
Diana
Dollison
Donna
Doria
Drew
Eddie
Edson
EJ
Elaine
Elizabeth
Emilee
Emily
Emma
Eric
Erica
Erin
Ethan
Florence
Fred
Garrett
Gavin
George
Glenn
Gracie
Grant
Gregory
Gunner
Hailee
Hailey
Hanna
Hannah
Hayley
Hazel
Heath
Hillary
Hollie
Hunter
Ian
Indigo
Jack
Jacob
Jadid
Jan
Jane
Janice
Jared
Jarrett
Jarrod
Jasmine
Jeannine
Jeff
Jenna
Jennifer
Jessica
Jetta
Jim
Jimmy
Jo Jo
John
Johnny
Jon
Joseph
Joshua
Josie
Joy
Jozie
Judi
Judith
Judy
Julia
Julie
Justin
Kaiden
Kaile
Kaitlyn
Kala
Kalyna
Kamerynn
Kara
Karen
Karla
Karrington
Karson
Karyn
Katie
Kay
Kayce
Kaylie
Keeley
Keith
Kelli
Kelly
Kelsie
Kendra
Kennelly
Kerri
Kevin
Kimberly
Kirstin
Koker
Korri
KP
Kris
Kristen
Krystal
Kyle
Kylee
Kylie
Kyna
Laney
Laura
Laurel
Lauren
Leah
Leslie
Lewis
Lexe
Liam
Libby
Lillee
Lillian
Linda
Lisa
Lizzie
Logan
Logann
Lori
Luke
Lyndsey
Lynn
Mac
Macey
Mackenzie
Maddie
Madison
Makayla
Makia
Makinley
Marci
Marina
Markie
Martha
Marty
Mary
Maryan
Matt
Matthew
Max
McKenzie
Megan
Meghann
Michaela
MiQuel
Miranda
Mitch
Molly
Morgan
Natalie
Nate
Nathan
Nick
Nicole
Olivia
Parker
Pat
Paul
Paulette
Petyn
Peyton
Portia
Rachelle
Ralph
Rebecca
Regan
Rex
Rhiannon
Richard
Rileah
Riley
Rocky
Rose
Ruth
Ryan
Sally
Sam
Samantha
Sandy
Sara
Savanna
Sawyer
Scott
Seth
Shannon
Sharon
Shawnee
Shelby
Shelly
Sierra
Spencer
Stan
Stephanie
Steve
Susan
Suzy
Sydney
Tamara
Tanner
Taylor
Terry
Tessa
Thomas
Tia
Timothy
Tisha
TJ
Tom
Tori
Tracey
Trent
Trenton
Trey
Trinity
Tristen
Ty
Tylan
Tyler
Wade
Wes
Wesley
Whitney
William
Willie
Xander
Zach
Zachary

--

DONE!

As of late this afternoon, we are officially DONE with our 4 Paws Fundraising goal.

Due to a flurry of other people finishing their fundraising just ahead of us, the August and September training classes filled up very quickly. There are no tracking-based classes in October or November (they do mobility dogs, seizure dogs, etc. in some other months), we learned that we are the first members of the December 2009 training class. If for some reason, somebody in one of the earlier classes can't make it or has to reschedule, we could be bumped up to the September class.

To all of you out there who made this happen, we're still not tired of saying, "thank you!"

--

And down the stretch they come!

So officially, we've crossed the $9,000 mark. But I have it on good authority that my employer's generous donation should be arriving any day, and should be enough actually put us over the top.

Yes, that's right. Any day now, our fundraising goal will be complete. It's hard to believe. We are in awe of all of you out there. We'll post an update when it's official.

With that in mind, we're shifting gears for a bit here.

If you were planning to donate but didn't get to it yet, we have a couple of suggestions:

1. You can donate for our upcoming expenses. When the time comes for us to go to training, we'll have to stay in a hotel near Xenia, Ohio for 10 days. We'll also need to acquire some gear, like a large dog crate. We're estimating that all told, our expenses will be about $2000. To do this, you can use the new "Donate" button on the right side of the page. These donations would not be tax deductible.

- or -

2. You can help another family in our area. Ryan's family is just starting their fundraising. You can learn more about Ryan's service dog needs here: http://adogfriendforryan.blogspot.com/2008/11/dog-friend-for-ryan.html

--

Two more big thank-you's

First we need to thank Pickaway County Hands for Disabled for their wonderfully generous donation.



Second, I need to thank my employer, Epsilon, for their amazing generosity.


And stay tuned for some breaking news in the next few days...

--

Some dog bone photos

Here are a couple pictures of the (literally) thousands of paper bones sold at Amelia's school...

Just to give you a sense of scale, you can see a life-sized Amelia cutout partway down the wall.

These pictures don't even include the big dog house, which was larger than the dog pictured above.

They gave us these big posters to bring home. I've been trying to hang them on the walls of our play room, but it's hard to even fit them. The top of the dog's head touches the ceiling, and his feet still drag on the floor.

My favorite part is seeing all the different names. The careful but crooked lines of a kindergartener, the stylized signatures of older kids, the doodles, the nicknames... Some of the bones say "5 bones" or "10 bones" on them, which I'm sure the people cutting them out were thankful for. I heard bones were selling so fast at one point that some of the teachers were getting blisters from cutting them out.

We also need to say Thank You to the Circleville Herald for the lovely story they put on the front page on December 3rd (or check in your "Shoppers Guide" bag if you don't get the paper). If you're a subscriber, you can see the article here.

--

Craft Bazaar report

We saw some old friends and met some new friends. We talked to a lot of wonderful and generous people and raised a good bit money for 4 Paws. We gave away a lot of free dog treats and people treats as a "Thank You" to our school and our community. We got to say "thanks" in person to some of the people who have helped us so much already. We met Joy the wonder-dog, Alexa the wonder-kid, Ciarra the wonder-sister, and Kristen the wonder-mom. We learned that some wheelchairs have lights on the wheels. We had a couple unplanned wardrobe changes, some broken glasses, a couple naps, and some snacks. We bought some goodies, helped at least one other good cause (the Cure Tays-Sachs Foundation), and our own cause was helped by the awesome Girl Scouts at the table next to us. Amelia and Edson got to play in a big inflatable bouncy castle. Owen got to wow people with his cuteness. Mom and Dad got worn out. And everbody had a good time.



--

Craft Fair SATURDAY

We'll be at the Craft Bazaar at Westfall Elementary from 9am to 3pm on Saturday, December 6th. We'll have dog treats, people treats, flyers, and an appearance by the amazing Joy - the mobility assitance dog trained by 4 Paws for Alexa, a ten-year-old girl with Spina Bifida.

Hope to see you there!

--

Another service dog story

Parents of special needs kids sometimes have to cope with some major challenges. Autism and similar disorders can lead to agressive outbursts that are hard for parents to deal with, and hard for strangers to understand.

But what happens when you add a service dog trained in behavior disruption to the mix?

Here's a story from Samantha Putnam about her experience with her son Tristen and their new service dog Ajax:

Tristen had just finished with therapy and had a HUGE meltdown in the waiting room. He was down on the floor, kicking and smacking at me. He let out a loud scream and Ajax jumped up and ran around me and started nuzzling Tristen! I haven't had Ajax approach Tristen during a meltdown because I know he'd get smacked or kicked. And Tristen did smack him. Repeatedly. But every time I got between them, Ajax just went around me and right back to Tristen. Finally I just quit trying to stop him. He didn't stop until Tristen calmed down.

Now usually when Tristen has a severe meltdown his behavior is off for the rest of the day. But he hasn't had a meltdown since. We even stopped at the store on the way home. He and Ajax are now in the living room, lying in the dog bed, looking at a book. Day after day, it just keeps getting better.

--

A quick note

To everybody who has helped us....

--

Over half way and heading for home!

Tonight I had the pleasure of meeting a wonderful little girl from Amelia's school. She's in first grade. She'd been using her own hard earned money to buy paper dog bones at school for Amelia's fundraiser. If you have kids this age, you know they generally don't bring in a lot of income, so when I found out she had bought eleven bones, I was touched. As usual, I couldn't find anything more eloquent to say than "thank you". But I hope that she and all the other kids at school know what a wonderful thing they're doing.

You may have noticed the big jump in our fundraising total since the beginning of the month. We sure did! (And no, that total does not include the school fundraising money yet.)

This whole process has been surprising on a regular basis. In my mind at least, when I saw our fundraising goal of $13,000, I thought getting it done in a year would be pretty good. And here we are past the halfway point after two short months. And we know of some more donations that aren't included in that total yet, but that'll push us a good bit higher.

Even with the economy looking a little worse every day, people are still giving. Generosity is coming from all over. People giving money, giving time, sharing ideas, offering encouragement, spreading the word. We've gotten plenty of donations from friends and family, but also from organizations and groups and churches... from a Walmart store 30 miles away. From an office services business in another state. From people we don't know. In fact, in some cases, we don't even know where the donations came from at all.

What we thought would happen was that we'd send out letters and emails to family, friends, and co-workers, and we'd get an initial surge of donations. Then we'd contact local businesses and hope to get some more. Then donations would plateau, and we'd have to hope for some media coverage and start organizing fundraising events.

What's actually happened is the opposite. Word has spread. The idea has snowballed. More and more people are getting involved, and the number of donations has increased over time.

We're not really getting big chunks of money from corpoorations or grants or wealthy benefactors. Almost all of our money has come in increments of $20, $50, or $100 - or in paper dog bones by the hundreds.

I hope to get some pictures to share soon.

--

4 Paws service dog stories

Sometimes it's hard to describe all the benefits these service dogs can bring, so I thought I'd share an occasional story from an online 4 Paws support group. Many members of the group stay on even after they have their dogs, to lend support, encouragement, and ideas to the rest of us. And share success stories, like this one from Jen Hanselman (used with permission):

I had to take Kyle for a blood draw yesterday, which is usually a screaming meltdown that requires three people to hold him down while they try to find a vein in his flailing arm. Thanks to Teton the Wonder Dog, we tethered up, walked in nicely, sat nicely in the waiting area and I could sign the papers without having Kyle in a death grip between my knees. During the actual blood draw, Kyle sat very calmly and only whimpered a little, at which Teton got up and butted the nurse's leg like a goat as if to say, "Hey! What are you doing to my boy?!" When it was done, we walked out nicely and got right back in the car with no fuss. Total 180 from the last blood draw! Wa-hoo Teton!

--

Another Thank You

Our friend Casey of Fields of View Photography is donating all proceeds from the sale of the two photos below to 4 Paws for Ability on behalf of Amelia. You can purchase them here if you're interested. She's also inspired a fundraiser in the online group Big Damn Crafters.





THANK YOU!

--

Our daughter the celebrity

Kids rule. (And so do their parents.)

Last week we went over to the YMCA to collect some money being donated for Amelia. It was so touching to see a couple dozen kids come out together, with their banner and their smiles, to give us the money they themselves had collected. So far. They decided to keep their fundraiser going until we reach our goal.

The kids were apparently eager to meet Amelia, so after some group photos, they surrounded her like she was Miley Cyrus or something. She just smiled and turned around to look at all of them, not sure what to make of it. We were so appreciative of the work these kids had done, and they seemed really proud to have helped. And well they should be.

Then tonight I went over to the school with Amelia and Edson for parent-teacher conferences while Lori stayed home with sick baby Owen.

As mentioned previously, Westfall Elementary also set up a fundraiser for Amelia. Edson came home from kindergarten the Friday before last and said "Amelia was on TV at school today." Apparently they had her appear on their closed-circuit morning school "news broadcast," explaining to the kids about the fundraiser. They also sent home a flyer with all the students, telling them to save their quarters. They made a huge drawing of a dog, and for 50 cents, kids could buy paper dog bones and stick them on the dog picture.

Tonight I got to see the famous dog picture. It's about four feet high and six feet long. And completely covered in bones. They are overlapping and spilling out around the edges. They told me it took just two days to fill. So they added a huge dog house, probably six feet by seven feet. Also completely covered. And a huge dog dish. And a huge ball. Covered. They even traced Amelia herself and made a big cutout of her, with a flowered shirt and a photocopied head, holding some bones in her hand. So adorable. They told me they won't cover her up though. :-)

And that's not all. Everybody I ran into had something more to share. Amelia's preschool teacher showed me a note from one of the parents of a classmate. This little preschooler had donated his entire allowance to help Amelia. Another teacher told me they were thinking of expanding the fundraiser to the middle school. Someone else told me the total was over $1400 in just one week. Another teacher commented that some students were asking really great questions and having really good discussions about things like disabilities and service dogs as a result.

The preschool teacher in the room across the hall from Amelia's was telling me that kids are starting to recognize her around the school, saying "hi" and interacting with her. As if to confirm her comments, just after that, a little girl, probably four, came up to her and said, "Hi Amelia! Do you want to play with me?" We heard several parents walking past saying, "Is that Amelia" or kids saying, "There she is!" And greetings everywhere we turned. I remember when I was in elementary school, the special needs kids were often shunned, mocked, teased, or even feared. It was amazing to see such a contrast.

I don't know if any YMCA participants or Westfall Elementary students or parents or teachers are reading this, but if you are, THANK YOU! I couldn't even properly express my gratitude to all these people tonight for fear of getting choked up. After we left, I couldn't wait the ten minutes it would take to drive home, so I called Lori from the parking lot. Only it didn't make for a very coherent story, because I could barely get the words out.

--

Family Secrets

...as in: We want yours.

........as in: Your favorite recipes.

We are hoping to put together a cookbook as a fundraiser. We thought this would be a good way to let people contribute in a way that didn't involve those ever-more-precious dollars and cents. Hopefully the cookbook itself would have lasting value too.

So if you've got something good you want to share (or even something mediocre if it comes with a good story attached) leave us a comment, drop us an email, send us a telepathic message, or whatever other method of communication you favor.

It can be traditional, modern, ethnic, offbeat, vegetarian, breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, midnight snack, something for company, something for holidays, something for just you, your grandma's secret, your own invention, something you stole, something blue, a canning recipe, dog treats, easy, hard, fast, slow, long, short, extremely healthy, or a heart attack drizzled with cheese sauce. Just no seafood. ;-)

Thanks!

Another new development

Amelia's school just let us know that they will be doing a week-long fundraiser for her next week. The coordinator told me how excited they are to help, but also told us how they could use it as an opportunity to teach the kids how animals can help people. To me, that makes it even cooler.

We'll let you know more details later. The help and support are so gratifying.

Thank you Westfall Elementary!

--

4 Paws dogs in training

If you're curious to see the dogs that are being trained right now for placement with families in the coming months and years, you can see them here.

On the same site, you can also learn more about how 4 Paws for Ability uses inmates to do the initial obedience training for their dogs. You'll find links to their work with the Warren Correctional Center and the Larkin Correctional Center. Each participating dog is placed with a pair of inmates. The dog will actually live in the cell with the inmates, who share responsibility for training and caring for the dog.

To me, this is a great setup, because it's a win-win-win. It helps the prisoners build self-esteem and experience the unconditional love that only a dog can give. The dogs get plenty of attention and spend all day and night with their own personal trainers. And 4 Paws for Ability gets to train many more dogs without having to hire many more trainers.

And finally, you can see dogs ready for adoption to the general public. These are dogs that weren't quite qualified for service dog duty, but that are fully obedience trained and ready for permanenet homes.

The more I learn about this organization, the more impressed I am.

--

THANK YOU!

Thank you to everyone who has helped us on this journey. Every time I try to say something eloquent about how much it means to us, the words come up short.

Out of respect for privacy, we won't thank individual donors here, but you know who you are.

We'd also like to thank the following companies, organizations, and groups:
(Updated regularly)

Helping Hands Pediatrics

Pickaway Hands for Disabled

Grace Church of Circleville

Fields of View Photography

Big Damn Crafters

Westfall Elementary School


YMCA of Central Ohio and Pickaway County YMCA


Westfall Elementary Parent Teacher Community


Your Office Annex


Acock Associates Architects

--

Mark your calendar

December 6th, from 9am to 3pm, we will be at the Westfall Elementary School in Williamsport, Ohio, for their craft bazaar. Organizers have generously provided us with a table. (Thanks Nicole, Julie, and Roberta!)

We hope to have at least two dogs trained by 4 Paws on hand, and hopefully we can have some baked goods, maybe a raffle of some sort... We've still got a couple of months to work out the specifics.

I know many of you reading this are nowhere near us, but if you are in the neighborhood, stop by, say "hello", and shake a few paws...

[... and if you want to bake some brownies and bring them by, well, I'm sure not gonna stop ya! ]

--

Animal Planet Hero of the Year Award 2008

Karen Shirk, the founder of 4 Paws for Ability, has been named as one of ten finalists for the Animal Planet Hero of the Year Award.

From the looks of it, any of the finalists would be deserving of such an award. As for me, I've got to vote for Karen.

You can learn more about the nominees and cast your vote here.

The winner will be announced on December 4th. The winner's organization will receive a $10,000 donation.

Karen has also recieved a Volvo for Life Hero award and has been featured by CNN Heroes as well. Next up for Karen is Directv's Hometown Heroes.




I'm sensing a theme...

Below are some video clips from CNN, featuring Karen, along with a couple of parents of autistic kids who have received service dogs. The parents describe the impact the dogs have had on their lives and the lives of their children.

(The video is in three parts. It looks like it's ending, and if you wait a few seconds, the next segment will start.)



[ Link to video ]

- Edson

Another Assitance dog in the news: Hunter & Kicker

Here's a news report out of Colorado, about a boy named Hunter and his service dog Kicker. Actually, it appears to be a couple of related reports spliced together:



--

Breaking News!

Our local YMCA has been great to Amelia. They let her take swimming lessons with her brother. They even gave her her own dedicated swim instructor, someone who had taught her own autistic son to swim.

Then this past summer, they bent their minimum age requirement for Camp Can-Do to let Amelia participate. She had a blast.

.

And now this:

The YMCA is taking on Amelia's cause and making her a part of their Make a Difference Day activities.

How cool is that?

Kids meeting dogs

This week in Xenia, Ohio, a bunch of wonderful, deserving kids are meeting their service dogs for the first time. The kids and the dogs are getting used to each other, learning each other's personality quirks and ways of doing things. I'm sure it will be a real life-changing experience for everyone involved.

So what happens when the kids meet their dogs for the first time? Well, some are scared, some are excited, some are uncertain, and some are oblivious. That's why you hear about the autism spectrum. And not all the kids who get dogs through 4 Paws are autistic - some have cerebral palsy, Down's syndrome, deafness, or even a combination of challenges. 4 Paws tries to carefully pair each child to the right dog, taking into account the personailities and temperaments involved.

A lot of kids with autism and similar disorders are notoriously uncomfortable in new and unfamiliar situations, and sometimes it's all the parents can do to keep them from running away. If you know any kids like this, you know that something like this can be a bit stressful at first, and many would be especially leery of "the licking end" of the dog. And if you know dogs, you know they'll win these kids over in the end.

My prediction is that Amelia would pretend to be unimpressed, but her curiosity would show through. And she'd surely giggle if the dog licked her.

Here's a video that was shot at the beginning of the March 2008 training class:



- Edson

--

Our first fundraising project!

First, we want to say THANK YOU for the incredible generosity. Donations are pouring in already, and we're looking forward to our end of the month report to get an official total. It's humbling to have people give so generously.

We've been trying to think of a variety of fun ways to raise money, and also to let people participate who maybe can't donate cash. So we've decided to compile and sell a cookbook!

(If you know Amelia, you may appreciate the irony of a cookbook, given her texture aversions and very limited dietary preferences. But we like irony.)

If you'd like to participate, all you have to do is rummage around in your kitchen and find your all-time favorite recipes, and email them to us: TheFreemans@freemanplace.com. They can be anything at all - dessert, breakfast, beverage, ethnic, vegetarian, simple, complex, conventional, or outlandish. In fact, if you have any dog food, or dog treat recipes, we might even have a section for those. If we got a lot of them, we could even do a separate book.

If you're sending a recipe, it would be great if you could give us a little background with it. Describe what it tastes like, or tell us why you love it. Where did it come from? What made you think of it for this project? Does it have an unparalleled complexity of flavor? Is it one you made entirely from your own garden? Maybe it's your grandmother's family secret. Maybe it came to you in a dream. Maybe you invented it one night when all you had left in the cupboard was ketchup, Busch Light, refried beans, and dried apricots. Maybe it reminds you of breakfast in bed after a wild night in Billings, Montana....

Hmm. You'd better let us know if you want us to use your real name, a nickname, or no name.

Okay, so it doesn't have to have a story. It just seems like it could make for a fun cookbook if it's more than just a list of ingredients and cooking instructions.

Feel free to send along illustrations or photos too if you want - but make sure they're fairly high resolution.

We can't promise we'll use everything. We'll have to see what and how much material we get, and try to find the right balance between content and production costs. We'll work out the exact details as we go, though we do have a pretty good idea how to make this work already.

Ultimately, we want something that people might buy to support our fundraising efforts, but that they can enjoy in multiple ways for a long time to come.

Thanks!

--

Adrenalin

[ This is something I wrote back in early July, when the seeds of this whole journey were firmly planted. I thought I'd share it here so you can get a sense of why we're so motivated to do this. - Edson]

--

I'm not an adrenalin junkie. Don't get me wrong, I like thrills up to a point - roller coasters, sporting events, the occasional suspenseful movie or life-changing decision... Heck, I even went white-water rafting once, and loved it. They put a photographer on top of some big nasty rock, and take a picture of your raft just before you smack into it. In the photo of our raft, everyone was either paddling like mad or hanging on for dear life, concentrating on that rock. Everyone except for me. I had one hand off my paddle and a big grin on my face.

But there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. (I just used the word "thing" twice in one sentence. Somewhere a shudder runs up an English teacher's back.)

First, our daughter was playing on the front porch, which she loves to do. Between the porch swing, the sky chairs, the water that collects on top of the rain barrel and the shady fresh air, I can see why. But in order to let her play out there somewhat unsupervised, I had to build a gate to close it off.

I was going about my business inside, when I realized I didn't hear Amelia's singsong chatter. Probably a nap, I thought. No - they said she napped at school. I went out to check on her, but she wasn't there. I checked in all her favorite napping spots, and still no Amelia.

Then I went back out on the porch, and saw that the gate latch was popped. She'd pushed it hard enough to get it open despite the locking pin. The hinges swung it shut again, so I didn't notice right away.

How long had it been? Was she out in the barn? By the water bucket? In the shed? Near the dirt?

$#!+

Every parent's worst nightmare. And for context, Amelia is five years old, she's autistic or something like it, she has almost no language skills and no sense of danger.

I got in the truck and drove the length of the driveway. I looked up and down the two (50 mph) roads that border our property. I called Lori to find out how soon she'd be home (any minute) and keep an eye out for Amelia because I couldn't find her.

Lori went one way up the road and I went the other. How long had it been? How far could she have gone? Did I check everywhere inside the house? A flood of worst case scenarios were racing through my head as I tried not to crap my pants.

Then after what was probably a short while, but that seemed like an eternity... I saw her.

She had wandered across the road to a house that was under construction. It's a good quarter mile away at least. Thankfully, the workers had let her play and kept her out of danger.

And I felt like the worst parent on the face of the earth. And not like the "Bad Father" jokes we kick around from time to time. I felt like throwing up.

That experience motivated us to start filling out the paperwork for something we'd heard about not too long ago: Service dogs for special needs kids.

While we were filling out the forms, not two hours after Amelia's Bogus Journey, she started choking on a mouthful of pretzels. Her mouth was open, but no sound was coming out. Her arms were flapping and she looked panicked. Lori did the Heimlich Maneuver, or something approximating it, several times until Amelia threw up her pretzels and started crying.

Everybody is ok, and Amelia is no worse for wear. I'm not sure about her parents.

Amelia prudently chose a different snack, and went back to her happy routines.

Meanwhile, as I implied above, I think I've had more than enough adrenalin for one day. I've probably had enough everything for one day. But sleep seems far off right now. I wasn't sure if I should write about this, or if I wanted to. I'm still not sure, and I don't know what purpose it serves except to get it out of my system. But here it is.

Not very fun emotions to revisit. I'm scared all over again, long after the fact. But it's over. Life can resume it's normal course.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go put on some clean underwear. Again.

--

Service Dog Calls 9-1-1 When Owner Has Seizure

A few select quotes from this story out of Phoenix, Arizona:

"Man's best friend" doesn't go far enough for Buddy, a German shepherd who remembered his Michigan training and saved his owner's life by calling 911 when the man had a seizure.

...

"It's pretty incredible," Clark said. "Even the veteran dispatchers — they haven't heard of anything like this."

Clark said police are dispatched whenever 911 is called, but Stalnaker's address was flagged in Scottsdale's system with a notification that a trained assistance dog could call 911 when the owner was incapacitated.
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Clark said Buddy has made two other 911 calls when Stalnaker was having seizures.

Autism Assistance Dog in the News: Matthew & Ajax

A local news report from Atlanta:


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Autism Assistance Dog video from 4 Paws

Here's a family talking about their experience with 4 Paws for Ability and an autism assitance dog:


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Tracking, Search & Rescue dogs from 4 Paws

A video about the dogs being trained for tracking by 4 Paws for Ability:


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A Service Dog for Amelia

My name is Lori Freeman. Five-year-old Amelia Freeman, a Circleville resident and my only daughter, has a very special opportunity. We are seeking the support of our family, our friends, and our community, in order to achieve this potentially life-saving goal. You can help.

Amelia has developmental delays in all areas. She cannot speak, and seems to understand only a very few words. While she has not been diagnosed as autistic, she displays many of the characteristics of an autistic child — most significantly, she has no awareness of the danger of traffic, deep water, or the ill intentions of a stranger. She also has a fascination with water and a tendency to be an “escape artist,” and generally does not respond to her father’s or my calls. Combine these traits and you have a recipe for disaster!

4 Paws for Ability, a nonprofit organization located in Xenia, Ohio, has the answer. They have agreed to train and place a service dog, known as an autism assistance dog, in her home. This dog — which may well be a rescued dog that would otherwise be destroyed — will be trained specifically for Amelia. Besides being a loving and loyal companion to her, it will be a working dog. Unfortunately, it cannot be trained to clean up after our little agent of chaos. But its tasks will include, among others, tracking. On those occasions when Amelia defeats our latest safety measures and escapes the house, the dog will find her for us so that we can bring her home safely!

I mentioned before that you can help; allow me to explain. Training one of these dogs is a costly process. Amelia’s dog will cost $13,000 to train. Most service dog organizations would place Amelia on a waiting list, from 2 to 5 years, until they could raise the necessary funds. However, 4 Paws for Ability is special in that they allow parents to volunteer and raise the money in their own community. This will allow Amelia to have her dog much sooner, and in addition, it will help bring this wonderful opportunity for all persons with disabilities to the public awareness. As you may know, autism affects many thousands of people, not to mention other disabilities (for example, cerebral palsy, Down Syndrome, epilepsy, or spina bifida) that afflict thousands more.

Please consider making a donation to support our efforts! Donations are tax-deductible. If you are unable to donate online, please contact me and I will provide you with a donation form. Please do not send money to us! Moneys are to go directly to 4 Paws, so please make checks payable to 4 Paws for Ability, and be sure to write “In Honor of Amelia Freeman” on the memo line so that we are given credit for our volunteer work. If you are unable to donate funds, you may wish to consider donating goods or services (to be used in a fundraising auction or raffle to benefit 4 Paws).

Thank you so much for your time, consideration, and support!

How to Donate Online

Click on either of the Network for Good or PayPal "Donate" buttons below to make your donation today.

If you are using PayPal, we ask that you earmark your donation for AMELIA FREEMAN by including her name in the "Special Instructions" box during your donation process through PayPal's web site. The link to the Special Instructions appears on the last page of the process. This will insure that we get credit toward our fundraising requirement.

If you are using Network for Good, we ask that you earmark your donation for AMELIA FREEMAN by including her name in the "Dedication or Gift" box during your donation process through the Network for Good web site. This will insure that we get credit toward our fundraising requirement.



Thank you!

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How to Donate by Check

Please make checks payable to "4 Paws For Ability, Inc." We ask that you earmark your donation for AMELIA FREEMAN by putting in honor of Amelia Freeman on the memo line of your check. This will insure that we get credit toward our fundraising requirement.

Mail your donation to:
4 Paws For Ability, Inc.
253 Dayton Ave
Xenia OH 45385


Thank you!

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