Nathan's Service Dog

Last year, after years of questions, we learned that Nathan was born with a genetic disorder.  This disorder impacts his life in many ways, including but not limited to, living life on the autism spectrum.  His autism can at times become debilitating, making it difficult for him to do some things that we take for granted like going to a store or making friends.  

Shortly after his diagnosis it was recommended that we consider getting him a service dog.  This seemed like an amazing idea given that I had seen Nathan do so well with dogs.  Whenever he was around them he couldn't stop smiling.

I began to look around and quickly discovered that a trained service dog costs nearly $25,000.  There was absolutely no way we could afford this, especially with all of our medical bills to care for Nathan day in and day out.

I had just about given up on the idea when I learned about New Horizons.  New Horizons provides service dogs at no cost, they simply ask that we pay the gift forward by raising funds to help support the next person's dog.  My heart nearly burst with excitement!  I immediately called and we were put on a wait list.  We remained on the wait list for almost a year when we received the call last month that a dog was available.

Blitzen came into our life just a few days ago and it is already amazing to see the impact she is having on Nathan.  Nathan is going to the bathroom unassisted.  He is taking showers without a person in the bathroom with him.  He is learning how to care for Blitzen, feeding her and loving on her.  When Nathan begins to get upset about something, Blitzen is right by his side, giving Nathan kisses and helping Nathan to transition through whatever it is that is upsetting him.  My heart simply melts as I watch this friendship budding.

My hope is that this amazing dog will continue to help Nathan cope with those things that cause him great anxiety, stress and confusion.  I hope that Nathan will continue to develop independence skills so that someday he will be able to live independently with no fear and with confidence.  I hope this beautiful furry friend will help him learn how to care for others.  I hope that the friendship he forms with this special creature of God will help him develop skills to forge new friendships with the children he goes to school with, goes to church with and those he will meet along the way.

I am so incredibly grateful for this blessing our family has received.  I don't know how many bake sales it will take but I am determined to help provide this blessing for another family as well.

On behalf of our family I want to thank you for making a donation to this amazing organization.  I also want to thank you for your prayers, your love and your support.  You are a blessing to us in so many ways.