For many people with Autism, finding a way to cope with everyday life can be a struggle.
For Elijah Kaufmann, he found that coping mechanism in a support canine at his school, but his lifeline was taken away when the dog retired.
Now, Elijah and his family are trying to get a support dog of their own.
The family held a fundraiser Sunday at the Valders Community Center, where Elijah’s mom Megan explained why they are raising money to get one from 4 Paws for Ability out of Ohio.
“There’s only a couple here in the state of Wisconsin,” she explained. “One would not serve us because we are too far away, and the other program was not accepting applications for autism service dogs because they are just serving too many clients. So, after some research, we came across 4 Paws.”
At their fundraiser, numerous raffle prize baskets were lined up, all of which were donated by individuals, companies, or organizations.
Nic, Elijah’s father, tells us he is very grateful for all the help, saying “Thank you to my mother-in-law, and my parents. Thank you to Mark and Liz Kenneke, they helped bring stuff in and helped up get set up…and lots of donors from all over the place.”
We were also able to speak with the man of the hour, Elijah, who explained how the school’s therapy dog was able to help him.
“I had some experience with her, through issues at school, and she helped me calm down,” he explained. “So we think a service dog would be beneficial for me.”
When asked what breed of dog he wanted, Elijah said he had a choice between a Newfoundland, a Golden Retriever, or a Labrador.
“We found out a Newfie is a big horse,” he said. “I want a Newfie, but I don’t want to brush it.”
So, instead he is going for the Labrador as that was the breed of the school’s support dog.
If you would like to help Elijah get his support dog, you can call Taylor Dyer from 4 Paws For Ability at (932)-374-0386 Ext 107 or send an email to TaylorDyer@4PawsForAbility.org.
