ABTC

Friday was agreat day at Autism Behavorial Treatment Center. Salt Lake K9 brought a few of the dogs they have been training and we got to bring Stella for Cameron's class mates to meet. He was so excited to see her when I brought her in. All of the kids were excited to see the dogs, not all of them wanted to touch them, but they were excited to see them. I am not sure if I have explained the reason we are getting a service dog for Cameron. Cameron likes to be in the same room as someone. He doesn't have to be engaged with that person, he just wants to know someone is there with him. He does not do well with change, he gets frustrated and upset if anything in his routine gets messed up. We all know change is unavoidable, so our hope with Stella is she will be the one thing constant in Cameron's life so change might be a little easier. She will go with us everywhere, church, the store, his school and even sleep with Cam. Another thing Stella will learn to to keep track of Cam. He likes to escape and run away. He has gone into our neighbors house, wandered off in the store and tried to escape at school. Stella will learn to follow him and let us know where he is by barking or trying to herd him home. One of the other dogs that was at Cameron's school is a reciently graduated service dog. His name is Fritz and his owner is Michael. Michael has autism but is higher functing. He works a few nights a week at target and is able to take Fritz with him. Michael told the kids how he can work and function better with Fritz by him. It is amazing the effect these dogs have on people. We as a family LOVE Stella. She is a great and loving dog. She is getting bigger and it is fun to see her learn and grow. We will keep you updated on her and her progress.