Leah-Anne Bott and her Assistance Dog For Autism ~ Leeson ‘CreamofBritish Costner’ inseparable partners since May 2019

Quite a few of our Australian Labradoodle puppies have left our home to become Assistance Dogs, the first was in 2008. The Australian Labradoodle was originally bred to be an assistance dog and they are the perfect breed, however not every puppy is suitable and it is very important to have trust in your breeder to choose the right puppy for the task and all disabilities are different and therefore require different characters. The puppy needs to be chosen over all his/her siblings so it can be a long wait for the right puppy.

Some of our puppies have actually trained themselves to alert their parents, Bonnie ‘CreamofBritish Bourbon Indiana’ is one very special girl, born 13th January 2014 she went to live with Heather who has epilepsy, Sandy realised that Bonnie started to alert them before Heather had a fit.

Assistance Dog For Autism

In late 2018 I was contacted by a local family looking for an Assistance Dog For Austism for their teenage daughter Leah-Anne, I instantly warmed to Leah’s mum Tracey on the telephone and invited the whole family for a visit to meet myself and the dogs, Leah had a natural affinity with all of the dogs which I thought was wonderful. I had a litter planned with Stetson & Thandie that I was confident would produce a puppy suitable for Leah and on the 19th March 2019 the puppies were born and as they developed over the next seven weeks one particular puppy stood out from his siblings to be the perfect match for Leah, once I was sure he was the right puppy I introduced him to his new mummy and there were lots of tears of joy. I knew collection day would be very emotional for Leah so it was decided that I would deliver him to their home. On May 17th 2019 Leah & Leeson ‘CreamofBritish Costner’ became partners.

Becoming an Assistance Dog isn’t all smooth sailing

Finding your breeder is the first step to finding an Assistance Dog, waiting for the right puppy can be a long process and finally getting your puppy is only the start of that partnership. Leah would be the first to tell you there was much chaos along the journey, there were tears, there were shoes eaten and craters dug in the garden, puppies do that, even Assistance Dogs in the making. What I suggest to all my families is that you need to take your puppy everywhere from 8 weeks old after his first vaccination, he needs to meet lots of different people and lots of different experiences but they must all be good, what he learns up to 16 weeks will shape him to the dog that he is to become forever, please see The Five Critical Stages of Development.

You need to find a training class and do The Kennel Club Good Citizen Dog Scheme You will also need help from people who are experienced in the field of Assistance Dogs, in the South of England I would recommend contacting Helpful Hounds Raising a puppy to be an assistance dog is all the more important than training a pet dog but the rewards are huge.

I asked Tracey to share her experience with you, so in Tracey’s own words…..

‘‘I was brought up on a farm in South Africa, surrounded by animals, domesticated and not so domesticated so I always knew sharing my house with a four legged furry friend was not for me. My daughter, now 17 has always been a huge animal lover and begged for a dog since she could talk. Leah has always struggled with life’s unpredictability, it’s ebb and flow so finally being diagnosed with Autism at the age of 15 was a relief for her. Her words were, “so I am not weird after all.” Having a label clarified things for her but certainly did not take her difficulties away. After watching Children in Need and watching yet another family proclaim the miracle of having an autism dog, my husband and I decided to take the plunge, despite my retiscense. We soon found that she wasn’t eligible so after about a year of research, digging and trawling the internet, I stumbled across the owner led programme. Great but where do we “get a dog!!” Fate brought me to Debbie and oh my goodness am I glad it did. She has been an absolute Godsend from the moment I made that first phone call. She has a wealth of knowledge and experience. She is patient and kind and puts everything she has into her breeding programme. She welcomed us into her home, answered ALL our questions and even put us in touch with an owner led training charity. I don’t know what I expected but it certainly isn’t anything like it looks like on Children in Need. Training your own Autism dog is NOT easy. It is constant. There is no giving it a rest. There are so many considerations that I didn’t even think of. The biggest being the cost. There are the puppy classes, the training costs, the insurance, their food (you want a well rounded dog, you gotta feed it well rounded food. No popping down to the supermarket for a can of nasty Chum!!!), the grooming, the neutering, toys that are all of a sudden a must because you want them to be stimulated and loved.... The other cost is time. Take into consideration that after a day’s work/school, your dog has to be walked come rain or shine. There is the constant cleaning of muddy paw prints and picking up the debris of a well chewed toilet roll. The utter fury when that ball of fluff has eaten your expensive shoes!!! Definitely not what you see on Children in Need. Take into consideration that embarking on the owner led programme means you don’t get a ready made assistance dog. There is a bucket load of patience and commitment needed. “I don’t like dogs” I said. Our dog has driven me to distraction. I have made several emergency phone calls to Debbie, pleading for yet more advice but when I look at my daughter sitting on the floor with her dog’s head resting in her lap.....I know we made the right decision.’’

Leah, Leeson and The Pesky Penguins of Wagging Tales

I am so very proud of Leah & Leeson, every time I look at the photo above I well up, the whole family have become lifelong friends, we’ve had lots of dog walks together and camping trips full of fun and laughter and we shared the proudest moment watching Leah & Leeson being awarded his first Assistance Dog Coat from Helpful Hounds. Leah, like many autistic children has always been very creative and imaginative, by the time she was 9 years old she had two books published and she has now created Wagging Tales and is the author and illustrator of the most wonderful children’s books, in Leah’s words ‘‘As a young woman with autism, dyspraxia and anxiety the world can be a difficult place to navigate but with the help of Leeson, constantly by my side, I can do anything’’

Oh my goodness imagine how proud I am to have Leah’s book Pesky Penguins dedicated to me, bless you Leah xxx