Ripples in a Pond

Just read our puppy raisers' blog entry about their new charge Kaboose. In it they mentioned that someone decided to get an autism dog for their son after witnessing Kruizer's calming affect on our guy.

Ahh yes, I remember the day well. Kruizer's boy had to go to a group that was brand new(which he hates) and they ended up sitting at a table talking about feelings (which he hates even more). As long as he held onto Kruizer's leash he was OK. But as soon as he was told to let go of the leash, he fell apart. When he was allowed to hold Kruizer again, the change back to calm was almost immediate. It was like a light switch going on and off.

Thinking back over the last couple of months, I can recall several instances where Kruizer has given our son this emotional buffer. There was the time he was upset and started screaming when he had to get into the car. As soon as we put Kruizer in with him, he settled down and was fine the rest of the trip. Or the time our son curled under the table with Kruizer when a restaurant trip became too overwhelming for him.

Then there were the many blood draws he has had to endure over the last month or so. Once very anxiety producing, these are now no problem as long as his dog is by his side.

Kruizer comes with us to pick up his boy from his day treatment program almost every day. Its amazing how they both light up after a day apart. The bond is beautiful.

I'm not sure if Kruizer will spend every day at school come fall, but he will certainly be available to help his boy transition to his new environment.

I know I must sound like a broken record, but this dog is changing not only our son's quality of life, but that of our whole family. Some days the change is very subtle, but it is there all the same. I'm so glad to hear that another family will get to experience this firsthand. If your puppy is anything like Kruizer (which I'm pretty sure it is), you're one lucky family.