Good morning

I have been putting off getting a dog for my severely autistic, non-verbal son, who is now about to turn 11, for quite some time now.

Many doctors and therapists have advised us that a trained dog would be beneficial for him.

Over time, he has also developed epilepsy, so I turned to an organisation specialising in animal training for both autism and epileptic seizures to find a companion dog. With the right training, these dogs can recognise an epileptic seizure even before it occurs and can help the child get into a more comfortable position before the seizure strikes, but the cost of training the dog for both autism and epileptic seizures is far too high for someone who is already having to cover the costs of behavioural therapy for their child.

And yes... they asked for between €13,000 for the training (whether we already have a dog or buy one first) and up to €15,000 to have a dog supplied by them with the relevant training.

So I put aside the idea—or rather, the dream—of being able to provide my son with a ‘specialised companion’.

Then I found out about fundraising campaigns through social media... and I wanted to give it a go!

Thank you to everyone and to anyone who can help me help my son Gabriele!