Service and Seizure Response Dog Training for Milo

I know that with the drastic move back to NYC and then the pandemic of COVID 19, I have not given many updates about Milo’s service animal. Bear has transformed our everyday. She is still in the throws of training and Milo doesn’t work with her directly yet. Their bond is immeasurable. To those who donated to her training and believed in her, this is what she does. This is how she is with Milo everyday. She is a calming and gentle light for him. His hard days are few and far between. I don’t know what we would do during distance learning without her

Bear has quickly nestled her furry bottom into our hearts. She is a staggering 20 lbs (!) and is a beautiful character.

Friends have asked what does it take for Bear to train and become a service animal for Milo. Bear will take TWO YEARS at minimum to fully complete her training. Her training starts with basic socialization and cognitive puppy development. In lay terms, Bear is in Kindergarten! Even our most brilliant dogs have to start with a solid foundation: she is, after all, still a baby. However, Bear does require specialized care, and so in conjunction with her puppy Kindergarten class, we have our Private Trainer who specializes in puppy service animal training teach ME (and eventually Milo) how to handle her and train her at every moment of the day. This is a key stone of Bear's success. Without rigorous and monitored development training, she would simply be a "well-behaved dog".
Make no mistake: Bear is LOVED and she is certainly a big part of our family, but she has a very specific purpose for Milo, and because of that, we need to be diligent with her trainers. Please consider sharing our story with your friends and family and help us reach our goal for training Bear!

Thank you!

Bear has quickly nestled her furry bottom into our hearts. She is a staggering 20 lbs (!) and is a beautiful character.

Friends have asked what does it take for Bear to train and become a service animal for Milo. Bear will take TWO YEARS at minimum to fully complete her training. Her training starts with basic socialization and cognitive puppy development. In lay terms, Bear is in Kindergarten! Even our most brilliant dogs have to start with a solid foundation: she is, after all, still a baby. However, Bear does require specialized care, and so in conjunction with her puppy Kindergarten class, we have our Private Trainer who specializes in puppy service animal training teach ME (and eventually Milo) how to handle her and train her at every moment of the day. This is a key stone of Bear's success. Without rigorous and monitored development training, she would simply be a "well-behaved dog".
Make no mistake: Bear is LOVED and she is certainly a big part of our family, but she has a very specific purpose for Milo, and because of that, we need to be diligent with her trainers. Please consider sharing our story with your friends and family and help us reach our goal for training Bear!

Thank you!

Merry Christmas to all! I cannot believe the goal we have recently hit! 56 supporters and donors who have made our dreams come true!

Bear is a big part of our family. It takes daily practice for good canine citizen training every day (between 20 min-30 min for a puppy) and constant work with her regarding the NYC environment. Bear is a champ and she is working diligently towards her objective.

Happy New Year! i have full faith we will reach out goal by February!

Forgive us for such a long time without an update! We have been in the process of traveling back to NYC for Milo's school; Bear was a BOSS on the plane! At only 12 weeks old, and only at home training (so far) she has impressed even veteran flight attendants! Her excellent behavior and trainability continues to inspire us and give us so much hope for what she is capable of doing. For those of you who have already met Bear, I know you see what she has been able to do, and can envision her future with Milo. THANK YOU especially to the supporters who have taken it upon themselves to not only spread our story, but to educate others on the benefits of service dogs and children. (You know who you are! There are so many of you who have taken it upon yourselves to help us: THERE WILL NEVER BE ENOUGH WAYS I CAN THANK YOU FOR THAT!)

I missed giving Tuesday, but if you are still considering giving to a great cause, consider helping us as we start our journey training Bear to be a seizure response dog/service dog for Milo! We are almost at the half way mark, and we still have 60 days left of fundraising! These funds will be used towards only training sessions over the course of the next year and a half. There will be boarding sessions as well as in home sessions with Milo and myself, Bears principle handler until Milo comes of age.

Thank you all for your consideration and for your support!! We are so grateful and cannot wait to showcase what Bear can do!

Bear is officially transitioned into our family. She is currently awaiting in-home, good canine citizen training with Noelle from Thank Dog! Training here in Nashville. These next few months, we need to ensure she is ready and able to take him a very rigorous train/boarding so that when she is a fully mature 2 years old, she is the best service dog for Milo to have for as long as she is able to work. This is Milo and Bear this morning. He wanted to have breakfast with her; just being near her during this morning, with her calm and quiet demeanor, made a usually difficult morning transition smooth and calm.

To all our supporters!
Mama Bear is here! THANK YOU for this first step of our journey...She is incredibly loving, calm and beautiful. Milo and the whole family are smitten

We have hit 25% of our goal! A thoughtful and generous donation from Shep has taken us to this point. We were recently dealt a tough blow, so to have this to look forward to for Milo, attainable within the next year at the rate we are going. Friends, family and friends of friends who are putting their faith in this as a tool for Milo, please KNOW you are actively catalyzing change and progress. You have made a true difference in Milo's life, and therefore in his family's life. THANK YOU

It’s the start of week two of our campaign, raising awareness of the importance and challenged of attaining a service animal for children with epilepsy/ ASD. Please consider learning more about our story and sharing the word? We start training at the beginning of February 2020! Thank you for all the outpouring of support this past week! You can share our post below with our website to learn more!

We just hit a major milestone in our goal: I have a dear friend I’ve known since I was 12. She, her mom and sister were there when Milo was born, visiting me at the hospital, coming to baby showers! The kind of friends who become like family. They have taken us over the 10% goal of our fundraising and I am in tears in the car when I saw the news this morning! Erika, Diana and Martha, God Bless you always for your love and kindness. I hope I always get the opportunity to return your consideration and love

I am overjoyed and humbled to see the power of our community! We continue to steadily gain traction towards our goal for training Bear as a service dog for Milo. Bear would be trained specifically for Milo's OT needs, and seizure alerting/safety. Please consider sharing our story Even if you are unable to donate at this time, support our page! thank you for all that you have been doing for us!

Yesterday was a really wonderful day for us as a family. The weather was beautiful in Nashville, Milo got to see his favorite Occupational Therapist, Ms. Jessica. She is one of those professionals you meet, once in a lifetime, who cares so much about her work and sees our son for who he really is. We have only known her two months, but she is already so close to him. She is one of the therapists we use who is supportive and encouraging of Milo's service dog. She has worked with children on the spectrum who have benefited from Occupational Therapy trained dogs (think, deep pressure, redirection) to help reduce meltdowns, or sensory overloads.

Thank you to our two new supporters yesterday! We appreciate you and thank you for believing in this campaign!

Yesterday was a really wonderful day for us as a family. The weather was beautiful in Nashville, Milo got to see his favorite Occupational Therapist, Ms. Jessica. She is one of those professionals you meet, once in a lifetime, who cares so much about her work and sees our son for who he really is. We have only known her two months, but she is already so close to him. She is one of the therapists we use who is supportive and encouraging of Milo's service dog. She has worked with children on the spectrum who have benefited from Occupational Therapy trained dogs (think, deep pressure, redirection) to help reduce meltdowns, or sensory overloads.

Thank you to our two new supporters yesterday! We appreciate you and thank you for believing in this campaign!

There are no words to express my gratitude. We continue to move forward on our goal: I wanted to add that we have had some donations not noted on this platform from family, and i will be adjusting our donation goal accordingly! As always, keep our family in your thoughts, share any advice if you or someone you know has been down this route... it is new for us! thank you!

I am overwhelmed by the support friends and family, near and far have provided our family with. We are so grateful to know people like you, and have you in our lives in any capacity. We hope you always feel like we are there for you too in the same way you have been there for us!

warmly,
Liz
Let's keep this going! We have until February to make this a reality!

Thank you for your support! We continue to make strides toward our goal with your help, and we look forward to continue answering question for friends who want to learn more about this process

Thank you for your support! We continue to make strides toward our goal with your help, and we look forward to continue answering question for friends who want to learn more about this process

To everyone who has already started to talk about this, thank you for your understanding and support! I know there is a lot of curiosity and questions about Autism Service/Epilepsy Detection dogs and I am happy to help answer questions and continue to educate friends on the topic! My dear friend is helping me compose a more comprehensive, written narrative on the topic shortly. THANK YOU!

This cutie is a potential candidate! Help us get her training off the ground! To learn more about autism assistance dogs and seizure detection dogs, visit
https://4pawsforability.org/autism-assistance-dog/