SmartPup for Lucca (75215)

30 Aug SmartPup for Lucca (75215)

I am a beautiful, affectionate, loving young boy. I love the beach, water play, trampoline, swinging, tickles and big tight squeezes! But with my condition comes a lot of struggles in everyday life. Because I cannot speak, I find it very challenging to express my emotions and regulate them. This results in self-harm behaviors like hitting my head on a hard surface, pinching my skin or smacking my legs. Sometimes I might have a headache, other times I have a need that I cannot communicate to have met and other times I am experiencing an overwhelming sensory overload from my environment, people or things happening around me that other people find easier to cope with. Mum is my full-time parent/carer, I have a little 2yo brother and at times she may be doing simple tasks like using the bathroom, hanging washing or attending to my brother and she will have to drop everything and run to my aid to avoid me having an injury.
I need to experience deep pressure very regularly throughout my day/evening and sometimes even during the night, I love it when mum lays with me and gives me a tight squeeze, and weight on my limbs this helps me calm and regulate my emotions almost immediately and I am always seeking this from her or other adults around me. I am very adventurous I love the outdoors, water, sticks, dirt, mud and sand this is where I am most happy and I will seek any chance I can! Unfortunately, I have no awareness of safety and this is very challenging for both mum and I. I will abscond, I don’t realise roads and traffic can hurt me, I’m not afraid of my ability around waterways and I am very confident to explore regardless, I will happily wander away from mum in the shops and I don’t have the ability to find my way back to her or communicate to another adult for help.
I find it challenging to make friends and be a part of the community like other children my age. I like to play a little differently and not been able to use my voice makes it hard for other children to understand me. I often have lots of Dr appointments and have attended the hospital many times due to my health and this can be a very anxious and upsetting experience for me, but mum makes sure I have a fluffy blanket and she stays by my side the whole time.
Having a smart pup would absolutely change my life! This would give me a companion/friend and the constant support I need and seek. I am obsessed with fluffy animals; the fur gives me comfort from stroking them. I could lay with them for hours and I instantly feel calmer and not so alone. My fluffy friend would be able to engage and disrupt me when they sensed I was becoming overwhelmed and help me avoid self-harm. They would be taught to lay with/on me and provide that deep pressure sensory feeling I so desperately seek. My fluffy friend would become a second set of eyes, he would help me go out into the community and stay by my side at all times this would open up so many more opportunities that I am unable to participate in because of my condition and needs and keep me safer. My fluffy friend would be able to come everywhere with me including environments that make me feel anxious and unsafe like hospital appointments and social settings.
My fluffy friend would become my best friend.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story! And thank you to our community, family and friends for sharing/donating to help me achieve this goal it means the world to me and my family.
An assistant puppy costs a lot to train (30k) and takes up to 24months before he is placed as my companion we are so, so hopeful that we can make it happen with the help of you all.

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