Autism Service Dogs of America - WARNING!
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Hello all, The community for autistic families is tight knit, so my wife and I wanted to pass on a bad experience in hopes others do not fall victim to the same circumstance. In Lake Oswego, OR there is a facility that trains service dogs for autistic children. My wife and I bought a dog from the facility. Here is what happened. The dog provided was not well trained. It struggled with basic commands such as "heal". It barked aggressively at strangers and therapists coming into our home. From the moment the dog entered our home, it showed aggressive tendencies that cumulated with biting my wife on the second day of ownership. Please be careful when pursuing a service animal for your children. My wife and I are still looking for an animal for our son, but are making the decision based on good interviewing and reference checking as opposed to using our emotions and trusting the provider. Please feel free to contact my wife Kim or my self if you are considering working with this group or have questions regarding this process. Dave 360 260 5568 This is so sad to hear because we have been wanting for a while to get a service dog for my 6 year old son. What was the name of the company or group that you went through?The name of the group is Autism Service Dogs of America in Lake Oswego Oregon. When interviewing dog trainers, check with Assistance Dogs International for reference. This organization oversees many of the Assistance Dog organizations world wide. Google them on the net for more information. Dave As a service dog trainer and owner of a company that provides dog to kids on the spectrum and even more importantly as a parent of a child with autism. I am sad to hear about your misfortune with the dog biting that should have been very apparent before the dog was placed. I hope that you can find another for your child needs. No all organizations belong to ADI, but still provide high quality dogs. I wish you the best. Tailwagn, Thanks for your encouragement. My wife and I have found another organization to work with. When we approached them with the request of wanting our son to be involved in the dog training process to help with transition into our home, their response was "absolutely". ASDA would not allow this. This seems odd to us and makes us believe that they do not know much about Autistic children and their behaviors. Dave I must second the OP's warning regarding Autism Service Dogs of America.The trainer we dealt with repeatedly demonstrated a fundamental lack of knowledge regarding autism. My list of complaints is extensive and as of yet, unresolved. I have filed a complaint with better business bureau (for what its worth), and contacted local autism awareness and support groups with my experience. Legal options are being considered. Please, please, please fully investigate this organization before you commit to them. With this warming in mind, are there other reputable organizations where other parents have had good experiences in finding a service dog? We are in the midwest and are at the early stages of searching for a service dog for our son. any additional advice appreciated! WOW I had no idea that service dogs of atisum even exicted. We were only told that getting a pet just for our ds would help him learn empathy and patiences. That didn't bother me since we already had a zoo..lol But I have noticed even tho this puppy has bonded well with ds, the puppy gets very scared when he has a melt down. To the point he has scared the poop right out of her. This has opened many questions that I plan on looking into. jpteuber - There are several org. that supply service dogs for autistic children. If you goggle "autism service dogs" several will come up. Their web pages have good info to start your search. You can also train your own service dog for your child, but this does require you to have additional info, but it can be done. I hope this can get you started in your quest, any questions just pm or post. jormi - Not all puppies are as they appear, this is just an FYI - not all puppies make a good service dog. It is based on genetics, temperament, personality, and how the puppy was raised the first 8 weeks. I have 30 + years in the dog industry, showing, grooming, vet. assist. training. My 9 yo granddaughter, with autism, has 2 service dogs, which my daughter and I trained. Puppies that are afraid of certain things may not be in the right career. Many of the org. that breed their own dogs, such a Guide Dogs for the Blind, have app. 1/2 of each litter that goes on to a career change. If you have any questions, more than happy to help. sorry I don't think I was clear. I just found out about this type of service dogs. No we where just told to get him a "pet" of his own, let him take the lead in its trainning and care. Now yes this did seem odd but like I said we are so lost in what he needs anymore that we try eveything. I have differant training with animals I have worked in shelters so I knew what to look for in a "family pet". We got him a 4month old Golden Ret. puppy. We also got him some books on training but he is having problems intergrating that into his ruteen. I wont give up any of or animals but if we can maybe train his or get another one....I don't know but at least it's something else I can look into for him. Thank you for your tips and advice.My name is Sunny and I am new to the forum. I am not sure if I found the forum by luck or FATE. I keep reading and re-reading the post because I just bust out in tears everytime and have to start reading all over again. I whelped my first litter of Chihuahuas 3 months before my son Austin was born. Austin is now 7 and has enjoyed and assissted me in raising 20+ litters of puppies. I never intended to become a "breeder" but when I saw how the experience helped him and our relationship as mother and "difficult/different" child, I knew I had to learn how to become a responsible REAL breeder. I invested in conformational correct dogs, started temperment and health testing, joined kennel clubs, and entered the show ring! Okay - What does that have to do with my child having Autism? I found a connection and a "therapy" I could be a part of with my son. I saw a child learn to be gentle, still, soft spoken, and KIND in the presence of the pups. It was ONLY when he held a Chihuahua puppy that he experienced this peace. Now at age 7, the dogs are his at-home supports (mine too). As a breeder, I gain and grow daily with my dogs. Did you know there are rules and methods for communicating with dogs? Austin understands this process giving him a foundation for interaction. I wish the same rules could spill over to children on the playground. Austin doesn't have a clue how to deal with the sporatic nature of humans. The dogs are Austin's connection to the world. I guess because Chihuahuas are small, I have very little trouble bringing them wherever we go - Walgreens, restaurants with patios, festivals, show and tell at school,the park, etc... They give Austin the confidence and foundation to interact with others. Example - A child walks up to us (Austin, puppy, and I) and ask "Can I pet your dog?" Austin says something like " My mommy has hand sanitizer because there is no sink." I might say something like sure you can pet the puppy - "Austin will tell you how." This may not sound like much to some parents, but for me it means a lot. I just witnessed my child handle communication with another child in a confident, calm and considerate manner. Sometimes he will even use eye contact. Below is a picture of us during a 4th of July Firework show. I brought Raven and a set of headphones. We all had a great time. Until a few days ago, I had NO CLUE there were orgs connecting therapy dogs to those with Autism. I have a new mission and purpose in life. I want to learn everything I can about these programs (good and bad). If I can implement any information at home with my child and pups, and help others to cry their eyeballs out with the joy of a "therapy" dog, it will give me the strength to continue raising child and Chihuahua! Note: Do your homework before bringing home a puppy. I would gladly help anyone in locating a good PET pup from a responsible breeder. Our children deserve the best pups we as parents can find. Learn the right and wrong questions to ask a breeder PRIOR to purchasing a new dog!
Edited by poochis on 01 February 2007 at 10:20am Just popping in from another Autism message board... We were just about to send in our applications (2, we have twins with Autism) to this company, but something didn't 'feel right' about not being able to find any info about this company, or have any contact info, business info, etc... I literally did another Google search, and lo and behold...I find your thread. I let the people know on my other Autism chat board what you said (I linked this thread) and at least one other family was already in the process of raising funds for that company as well... We're just sick about this. I am so sorry to hear about it; but thank you for posting it somewhere so that we didn't go out and raise/spend $29,000 towards a company that does not deliver. Thanks again, Jaye P Ps...I did post this a moment ago but then deleted; I thought I had responded to the wrong thread. Apologies; I am new to this particular forum. In regard to the service dog....there is an Ohio based company that trains dogs for the specific need, Autism is one of them. The thing is, you can't buy one. You need to fund-raise on your childs behalf to obtain the funds to fund the training of the dog. When the dog is trained then you must travel to Ohio with the child to spend time with the animal (I think it was 2 weeks) and to make sure everyone does OK with each other. The company's name is Four Paws for Ability, I think. We were thinking of doing this for my 7 y/o Autistic Son. I have since changed my mind in obtaining a service dog and am reconsidering a family pet (dog) instead. I read that when you get a service dog for an Autistic child...the child should be the only person that interacts, plays, feeds, walks, the dog. That wouldn't work out for us. We have 3 kids and my Son whom of which the dog would belong to would not be able to carry out these tasks alone. Just a little food for thought from a newbie. :-)Yes I looked into 4 Paws for Ability too...and if memory serves, they use many pound puppies. -Good that you can save a dog's life; bad that you have NO CLUE of it's genetic predispositions...and you have no choice as to breed, age, etc... Actually, looking on their website under 'Autism Service Dogs', it looks like they are mainly labs and goldens... Not saying that they are a bad organization as I don't know. The pros are it says that they have placed over 100 Autism assistance dogs...and looking at their pics on their website, it looks like they are training their Autism Asst dogs with just the things that an Autistic would need... The cons -you are still facing a 501(c)3 charity with no legal recourse should you get a dog that does *not* work out for you. 2 weeks required training (double check that; I think that's correct) in their facility in Ohio; all expenses on you. Good luck. Somebody please post if you are successful in finding an Autism Asst dog. Thanks Jaye P My wife and I are so glad that this forum has allowed us all to find better providers. I would hate it if one of you went through what me and my wife went through. Luckily our children were not hurt. For all of those who live in the Pacific NW, I encourage you to call us anytime if you are looking for a trainer. After our initial mistakes, we took a lot of time doing research and found two trainers we really liked. We also visited their facilities - I think this is really an important step before anyone makes a decision on who to use. Look the trainer in the eye, let them know what your expectations are, and gain agreement before you move forward. Autism Service Dogs of America was very adverse to this; I should have known better. Dave or Kim 360 260 5568 |
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