In March 2021, we introduced Toby, one of the newest puppy recruits to our training program here in Western Australia. Toby instantly displayed the qualities needed for a future as a working Guide or Assistance Dog – a relaxed, confident and obedient pup, with a playful side.
It is thanks to wonderful supporters like you that Toby was provided with all the essentials, equipment and expert trainers to become a life-changing Guide or Assistance Dog for a Western Australian living with low vision, disability or illness.
Fast-forward two years and we are delighted to say that Toby has recently been placed as an Autism Assistance Dog with a Perth family. They describe his arrival into their life as a ‘game changer’.
“As a family, we haven’t had a chance to entertain the idea of a dog previously because we’ve had so many years of fact-finding. And when you’re going through a diagnosis with a child, you’ll find that it’s almost like a roundabout of constant assessment,” Anika says.
Seven-year-old River, was diagnosed with Autism at age three. River’s mum Anika says that for many years the family had not been able to be present and enjoy the moment.
“River is pre-verbal. He’s not non-verbal. He does occasionally use words, but he also has a device as well. And his challenges are regulation and transitions, we’ve had difficulties with him running off,” Anika explains.
Anika and her husband Michael, also have an older son Levi aged ten. Prior to Toby, anytime they left the house, both parents had to be together so that one could keep a close eye on River.
Anika explains having to make the unimaginable choice if she was out and about with her two young sons on her own. Noisy, open spaces and large gatherings often became overwhelming for River resulting in absconding – in other words running away from situations due to the stress and anxiety they caused.
“Which one are you going to leave? Anika says. We got to the point that we weren’t doing things that we’d like to as a family because we were just too anxious ourselves.”
It was these high stress moments that led to the decision to research the Guide Dogs WA Autism Assistance Dog program to help River with his challenges and to help the family to confidently do more and be part of the community.
In late 2022, thanks to the kindness of people like you, River was matched with Toby.
River’s parents find it hard to describe and to quantify just how much Toby has impacted each member of their family.
In the case of River, Toby is helping him to keep calm with transitions from one setting to another, whether that be new or one that he knows. Toby also keeps River safe as he been trained to anchor when River feels the need to run, this allows mum time to intervene, figure out the issue and redirect attention so they can keep moving to their target destination again.
For parents Anika and Michael, the freedom and independence to go out solo with River but also as a family to the playground or movies has been amazing, knowing that Toby is there to support River and keep him safe.
And for Levi, Toby has become a lovely companion for him and he is enjoying the opportunity and the responsibilities of owning a pet including the toileting, feeding and brushing. It’s been a win-win for everyone.
“We love Toby, he’s changed our life. We really appreciate having Toby because we couldn’t have done it on our own. We just couldn’t with everything in our life at the moment.”
Community support is critical in equipping our volunteers and expert trainers with everything they need to raise and train our puppies to change lives. Please donate today to ensure more families like River’s can experience independence, confidence safety and inclusion.
