Henry is a joyful 4½-year-old boy who lives with several significant developmental challenges related to a rare genetic condition. Henry is nonverbal and has significant delays in communication, motor skills, and everyday independence. Because he cannot reliably communicate his needs or understand directions, he requires constant supervision and hands-on support throughout the day.

But one thing connects with Henry in a way almost nothing else does: dogs.

Over the past two years, Henry has developed very special relationships with two dogs in his life, Buddy and Roo. When they are around, we see a different side of him. Dogs help calm and regulate him, hold his attention, and give him a safe outlet for the sensory input he is constantly seeking. His meltdowns decrease dramatically, and he is able to remain engaged indoors in a way that is normally very difficult for him.

Most incredibly, dogs have helped create developmental breakthroughs we have struggled to achieve in other settings. Around Buddy and Roo, Henry has attempted meaningful sounds and words such as “Buddy,” “puppy,” and “ball.” He has also followed simple directions such as “throw the ball” and “where’s the ball?” These moments may sound small, but for Henry they are enormous. Dogs motivate him to communicate, interact, learn, and connect with the world around him.

A specially trained service dog could also provide important support as Henry grows. Henry is becoming faster, more independent physically, and is learning how to open doors, which makes elopement a growing safety concern. He also struggles with stairs, falls frequently, and needs an adult holding his hand and watching him closely in most environments. A service dog can be trained to help with behavioral interruption, emotional regulation, comfort and security, and potentially provide additional support surrounding his safety and elopement behaviors.

Most of all, we believe having a service dog as a constant companion—rather than seeing a dog for only a few hours at a time—could have an extraordinary impact on Henry’s quality of life and development.

Henry cannot tell us in words that he wants a dog, but he makes it very clear. He screams with joy when he sees Buddy or Roo, seeks out Buddy’s house on our neighborhood walks, cuddles and kisses them, and lights up around nearly every dog he meets.

When people ask us, “What does Henry love?”

Our answer is always simple: dogs.

We are incredibly grateful to everyone helping us bring a specially trained service dog into Henry’s life. Your support will help give him not only a companion, but another pathway toward communication, learning, safety, independence, and joy.

Training a service dog to meet our child’s requirements can be very costly. On average it costs between $40,000-60,000 to raise, train, and place a service dog at 4 Paws for Ability. While 4 Paws for Ability fundraises to help cover a significant portion of this cost, families are tasked with raising $20,000 of that amount or $23,000 if receiving a poodle, doodle or papillon. We hope that we can receive assistance from our beloved family and friends to help make our service dog dream a reality.